Balance old version
by Night's Darkness
Summary: Connor makes a different choice, instead of sacrificing the girl in Inside Out. The Scooby Gang are told by another pregnant girl to go to L.A. There is more going on then meets the eye. Complete!
1. Surprise!

Oh my God, I am so sorry about taking all my stories offline, but my stupid computer deleted them all off the internet!

Please forgive me.

Anyway to people who have read up to the point that these were taken off, don't worry I've been adding more on.

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters invented by Joss Whedon except Calista and a few others

* * *

**Balance chp 1: Surprise!**

"Connor don't let her in!" pleaded Darla as she stood in the warehouse trying to save her son from Cordelia.

"It's Angel he trying to turn you against me with this cheap image of… Darla." Darla blinked in surprise as Connor asked

"You can see her?"

"Connor listen to me let the girl go!" insisted Darla

"It's not her. It's not Darla, its Angel, this is how much he hates you!" whispered Cordelia coolly. Connor screwed up his face as both women continued to speak. He was torn in half, what was he meant to do? The girl sobbed and pleaded with him to let her go. He couldn't place it but she reminded him of someone he knew or used to anyway.

"Steven!"

That whisper in his mind instantly caught his attention. He recognized that voice, but from where?

"Listen to Darla, you are too good for this, Cordelia has tricked you more then you realise! Please remember me Steven!" Connor was suddenly assaulted with images, memories and feelings. He suddenly realised! Both women stopped speaking as they saw Connor's face change from indecision to horror to fury in the space of a minute. His eyes flew open and they were burning with a sudden fury that neither had seen before. Connor looked at Cordelia, his smouldering eyes focused on her. They made her nervous, they seemed to pierce her soul.

"You!" he shouted furiously, "You made me forget! You made me forget about her!" Cordelia was baffled by this outburst, and then she realised.

"Oh shit!" she cursed and stepped back out of fear, in her present condition she would never stand a chance if Connor attacked. Connor, however, had other ideas. He reached down and grabbed the girl by her bonds and dragged her to her feet. At the same time he stuck his hand into his pocket, pulling something out. He backed away from Cordelia and looked at his mother who was beaming at him with tears of joy falling down her cheeks.

"Thank you mother." he whispered, then he threw something to the ground and he, the girl and Darla were all gone leaving Cordelia alone.

* * *

Connor and the girl appeared out on a street that was near the Hyperion hotel. He quickly looked around as he undid the bonds that were around the girl's wrist. As they came away he saw there was a mild rope burn around them.

"I'm so sorry about this, I didn't mean…" he trailed off unable to finish so he settled for looking at the girl with remorseful eyes. "Please don't tell anyone about this." he whispered gently. She nodded and then he stepped back and she quickly ran off. He watched her go until she rounded a corner. He leaned back on a tree and breathed deeply trying not to cry, this was too much for him to handle.

"Connor!" Connor jumped as he heard Angel's voice. He looked over to meet the wary but caring eyes of his father, he had Fred, Gunn, and Wesley with him all of whom were watching him suspiciously.

"You were right dad!" the exhausted boy murmured, "It's not Cordelia, the real Cordelia wouldn't have done things like that." Angel was horrified by the defeated, tired and sad tone that was in his son's voice. "She wouldn't have told me to get her a sacrifice or that you hated me, even if you do. She wouldn't have done that to me." Connor wasn't referring to the other things he had mentioned, but the others didn't realise that.

"Connor are you ok?" asked Angel worriedly, the poor kid looked as if he was ready to die on his feet. Gunn Fred and Wesley each lowered their weapons that they had had ready to use, not quite aimed at him but cocked enough to warn him. They had never seen this sort of behaviour with Connor; defeat just wasn't something you associated with him. He would fight until the end, he wouldn't just give up. He shook his head

"No I don't think I am." and he sank to his knees.

"Connor!" cried Angel as he bounded forward and caught his son just before he hit his head off the ground. He quickly lifted him into his arms and rushed back to the hotel. Lorne looked away from the contained Skip as they came in and asked

"Did you find out what that flash was?" then he noticed Connor. "Hey where'd he come from?"

"Don't know all we know is there was a girl with him. He freed her and healed her rope burns somehow and then asked her not to tell anyone about something and then she ran off. He collapsed as we approached him." said Angel in a rush as he laid Connor down on the couch. Fred rushed back into the lobby with a wet cloth that Angel took and began to wipe Connor's face in an attempt to rouse him. It worked, Connor almost instantly woke up and he grabbed Angel's wrist his eyes wide with fear.

"Hey Connor it's ok, you're safe." Connor looked around and felt very uncomfortable that he was surrounded by his dad's friend, all of whom were regarding him with suspicion. Angel noticed and gave them all a look that said 'back off'. They quickly did so. Connor looked at his father and gulped, he was afraid of the trouble he was in. In Qour-Toth punishments had been severe, he just prayed Angel would be a little less harsh. Yet at the same time he wanted to be punished for what he did, that and the fact that it would make him focus on the pain and not the thoughts that were rolling around in his head. Angel meanwhile noticed the frightened look in his eyes and reached forward to gently squeeze his son's shoulder, but then drew away as Connor flinched before he even touched him. Angel looked at him, hurt, and then stood up and walked upstairs. Now Connor felt worse, he had flinched because he expected pain, like a reflex, he hadn't meant to hurt Angel. Unfortunately the others didn't know this, and as soon as Angel was gone and out of earshot they surrounded him and glared furiously.

"What?" asked Connor tiredly

"You are so lucky I don't have a taser handy!" snarled Fred angrily, her eyes flashing dangerously. Connor flinched again he could remember that as easy as he could see her right now.

"Yeah after everything, everything you've done. You put Angel through hell and yet he still cares about you, he lets you come back here, takes care of you and you still treat him like he's a monster!" shouted Gunn. Connor bowed his head, his hair falling into his face, obscuring it. Gunn, thinking Connor was sulking roughly grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him and yelled "You are nothing but a selfish brat! Get the hell out and stay out of Angel's life, cause ever since you were born there's been nothing but trouble!" Connor's head snapped up and they were shocked to see the tears flowing down his cheeks. He pushed Gunn away and then curled into a ball and began to cry into his knees. They watched, completely baffled by this behaviour.

"Connor?" they all turned to see Angel standing there looking furious and sad at the same time. He pushed past them and crouched in front of the sobbing teen.

"Connor?" he called again, softly and lovingly. Connor looked into Angel's brown eyes and then flung himself at Angel and sobbed into his father's chest. Angel was taken aback by this sudden show of emotion but he quickly wrapped his arms around his son and rocked him as he sobbed.

* * *

"… and that's how you dust a vampire!" finished Buffy Summers as she brushed her clothes free of vampire dust. She turned to the group of awed potential slayers and the bored Spike. Suddenly the silence was broken with

"Impressive moves!" They all looked to the right and saw a teenage girl, they could only see her face, the rest of her was hidden by the shadows, leaning against the tree.

"Thanks, but that was nothing I got better moves." said Buffy. That was both a comment and a threat should this girl attack. The girl smiled knowingly

"You are all very strong, but I wonder if you are strong enough for this mission."

"What mission? We have enough on our plate we don't need anymore missions."

"But the mission I'm talking about links to your mission and Angel's mission." Buffy instantly went on high alert at the mention of her soul mate.

"Really! So peaches needs help as usual!" smirked Spike.

"Yes what he strives to prevent is something he cannot stop, I can, but only if you all come to L.A." Buffy arched an eyebrow suspiciously she was very aware of how clever The First was and this could be a trick.

"So let me get this straight, you have the power to stop something that Angel can't and you expect me to just up and leave Sunnydale and go to L.A."

"Pretty much."

"And just what do you have to do with this?" asked Spike coming to stand beside Buffy. The girl stepped out of the shadows and their eyes were all instantly drawn to the nine months pregnant swell of her stomach. She laid a protective hand on it and gently rubbed it.

"I don't have anything to do with it but this does." she answered looking at them under lowered eyes, indicating her belly.

"We're not midwives." said Kennedy scornfully. The girl rolled her eyes and sighed. Buffy noted she was at best eighteen years old, with waist-length curly blond hair, blue eyes and a pretty face. Even with the large stomach she was quiet attractive, something Buffy knew she would never be able to pull it off if she ever got pregnant.

"Please help me!" she whispered sounding afraid, "The world has a danger coming, it's so close I can feel it, if it comes then not even the slayer and the champion united could stop it." Buffy stared at her and found she believed her.

"So you want us to leave taking all the potentials with us to L.A. because of what a young pregnant girl told you?" asked Giles slowly and incredulously. Buffy shrugged

"I can't explain it Giles, I just can't help but trust her, she seems so…"

"Pure!" suggested Spike from where he was sitting.

"Yeah pure, but it's almost like she was tested harshly by evil, tempted, and she just flicked her hair at it and ignored it." Buffy shrugged at the confused looks she got, it was the best way she could explain it. Meanwhile said pregnant girl was sitting on the couch in the sitting room slowly rubbing her belly fondly while Andrew Dawn and Willow watched her openly.

"You can stare all you like I am not going to turn into a monster and try to kill you." She looked up at them and smiled warmly. They smiled back, feeling calm in her presence.

"So who's the father?" asked Willow. The girl smiled even more and sighed happily

"A wonderful person, he would do anything to protect me, he is a warrior and fights the evil in this world."

"Sounds like a lovely guy, what's his name?"

"You already know him." Willow's forehead creased in confusion. She shook her head and looked around the room.

"This is a lovely house!" she complimented

"Thanks but it's seen better days!" smiled Dawn. The girl nodded and then started in surprise then relaxed with a happy smile.

"What is it?" asked Willow leaning forward. The girl just reached forward and took her hand and placed it on her belly. Willow gasped in amazement as she felt movement. "Wow strong kicks they got there." Dawn eagerly reached forward and placed her hand on the stomach and squealed excitedly as she felt the kick as well. The girl laughed in amusement.

"Hey I just realised we don't know your name." said Andrew suddenly.

"Oh right, sorry, it's Calista."

"That's a pretty name, it means the most beautiful doesn't it?"

"Yes it does. That's why I was called it."

"Well we've decided!" said Buffy coming in with Giles, Xander Faith Spike and Anya. "And we will do as you suggested and go to L.A." Calista smiled happily and heaved herself to her feet, waving away Dawn who moved to help her up. "But…" said Buffy stepping into her face, her own firm and her eyes intense, "If this is a trick of The First, then pregnant or not I will kill you, we clear?"

"Perfectly!" said Calista calmly her lips curving into a small, amused smile as if Buffy didn't scare her at all. That annoyed the slayer because she knew she could easily kill her even if she was pregnant if she had to. Calista looked at Giles and said, "I suggest you asked Robin Wood if you can borrow one of the school buses so there is enough room for the 30 potentials here." Giles looked surprised and nodded, disappearing to make the call. She then looked back to Buffy and said quietly

"Thank you, I am in your debt for this." and then she stepped around her and announced she was going to step outside and get some air. Dawn followed her as did Spike and Faith. Buffy sighed and went to the basement where most of the potentials were.

"Ok listen up, I want all of you to pack up as many weapons as possible, we are going for a road trip." she announced as she came down the steps.

"To L.A.?" asked Molly excitedly

"Yes, we have a job to do. It seems that there may be more then just the First to worry about now." There were gasps and murmurs of fear from among the girls. "We will fight it and any one else who is involved in this apocalypse, because that is what we do, we fight because we are slayers and you all have to remember that." The girls nodded and Kennedy asked

"When are we going?"

"We are going A.S.A.P… or sooner."

* * *

Again so sorry for the stories being taken off, don't worry I'll repost them as quick as I can. :-)

Night's Darkness


	2. Understanding

**Balance chp 2: Understanding**

"How could you do that?" shouted Angel furiously at his friends all of whom were looking guilt ridden. Connor had been unable to calm down and Angel had helped him to his room and had soothed him until he dropped off to sleep.

"Angel we were only-"

"In case you haven't noticed Connor has had his life turned upside down by that thing that's inside Cordy. Not to mention everything else like us thinking he's responsible for the Beast and me becoming Angelus, c'mon guys did you really expect him to just up and accept it all, he's been here for six months for god's sake!" yelled Angel grabbing some things that were on the reception desk and flinging them across the room in anger. He was angry with his friends but he was angrier with himself, for ignoring his son and for being mad at Connor instead of Cordelia after they slept together. He realised that's exactly what Cordelia wanted, for Connor to be pushed away from all but her so she could use him. He suddenly felt sick with himself for what he had done. The others now had guilty faces, they had been so busy sticking by Angel that they forgot about what Connor was feeling, what he was going through.

"Hey man look I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten on his back like that." apologized Gunn

"Don't say it to me say it to him when he wakes up." They all bowed their heads in shame. "Now lets try and think of a way to save Cordelia without killing her, it should probably take her a little longer to give birth now Connor and her sacrifice are gone." They quickly buried their noses in books about mystic pregnancies and anything else that may relate to what was happening. Skip sometimes made a sarcastic comment but when Angel threatened him with the Sphere of Infinite Agony he instantly shut up. As it turned out they came up with nothing. They jumped as the phone rang. Fred answered it

"Angel Investigations!"

"Fred its Willow!"

"Willow hi how are you?"

"Good, you?"

"Uh well we are fine but there's a lot of stuff happening at the moment."

"So we heard, listen we, that is Buffy, me, Xander, Faith, Giles and the rest of the Scoobies and potentials are coming to help out apparently."

"You are? Why? Not that we don't appreciate it!" she added quickly

"Well I can't really say but from what we've been told your problem and our problem are linked. That's as much I really know, we should be there in about two hours."

"Ok then but be ready for some surprises, none of them good."

"Ok bye then!"

"Bye!" Fred hung up and told the rest what Willow had said. They were intrigued by the Scoobies coming but knew there was no point trying to find out what they were up to because they were on their way. Angel rubbed his eyes and stood up,

"I think I'll make something for Connor, he's bound to be hungry when he wakes up."

"Just make sure there's no tomatoes, he hates them." said Fred with a shy smile. Angel nodded and sauntered into the kitchen. He made some hot coco and some mushroom soup, as well as a sandwich with ham and cheese, lightly toasted. He normally wouldn't do this but he doubted Connor had eaten well in many months, besides he needed a distraction. He carried the tray carefully up the stairs and pushed the door open and peered in. Connor was tossing and turning, clearly having a nightmare. Angel sighed, before Cordelia had her memory back, she had mentioned once that Connor rarely slept and when he did he more often then not had severe nightmares. This must be one of these times. He set the tray down and took his sons shoulder and shook him gently calling his name. Connor jerked awake and grabbed Angel's wrist in a bruising grip, his eyes flying all around the room.

"Shh Connor it's ok you're safe." soothed Angel. Connor met his gaze and said more to himself

"Right, safe, not here, gone, dead." He still looked afraid though.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Angel, Connor instantly shook his head. "Connor you can't bear this alone, besides I want to need to know what it was like in there, what it was like for you. Connor please."

"No you don't want to know!" insisted Connor, then he asked quietly "Do you really hate me?"

"What! No of course not! What made you think that?"

"Cordelia said…"

"Don't listen to her she was lying to make you do things she said."

"Well it worked didn't it."

"We let it work, but believe me when I say that I will never hate you and I love you. Connor can you believe me when I say it?" Connor looked at his father and seemed to deliberate whether his answer was positive or negative. Angel let him think, he hadn't expected an instant answer. Slowly Connor nodded

"I believe you dad, but how can you love me after everything I've done?"

"Connor you've made mistakes, everyone does, but it's how we handle the consequences. We both handled my ocean trip badly, and in doing so gave the bad guys the perfect opportunity."

"Is Cordelia really evil?"

"No the real Cordy is stuck inside while something else is in control, but once she gives birth it will pass from Cordy to the child or whatever it is and Cordy will die." Angel hated being so cruel but he knew he had to be straight or else Connor might not understand. Connor looked horrified at the revelation. Angel suddenly realised what he was thinking and quickly tried to quell his fears

"Connor this was all done in such a complicated way, there's no way you are a demon or that you will have demon children. You are a human through and through."

"With super abilities and healing like a vampire!" put in Connor sullenly as if it was a bad thing. Angel knew Connor hated having demons for parents, it made him feel like a monster.

"Well even if you don't like it, if you didn't have it you probably wouldn't be here right now." Connor looked up at him again and his eyes were scared of the thought, of death.

"I never liked hearing fa-" he sighed and shook his head, "Holtz," he amended, "talk about death, it was unnerving because it's the unknown and I never knew if I would see them again."

"Them?" asked Angel in confusion, he knew for a fact that it was only Holtz and Connor in Qour-Toth. Connor suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable and sighed again

"Him again, I still don't." he added sadly. Angel didn't exactly know what to say, what was there to say

"Here I brought you some food, better not let it get cold." he said finally picking up the tray and giving it to Connor. He was disappointed when Connor went green at the sight of it. "Can't I ever do anything right in your eyes?" he asked tiredly. Connor didn't answer and Angel found himself getting angrier with his son, "What is it? Is it me, is it because of what I am, a vampire? Is that why you never give me a chance? Well excuse me for being able to accept what I am for now! I can't help that I'm a vampire!"

"Dad stop!" shouted Connor and Angel froze realising his voice had gone from irritated to furiously loud. He then noticed that Connor's voice had been thick with emotion and tears. He sat down beside his son and apologized.

"Its just-"

"It's hard for you to know that Cordelia a woman you care about is possessed with something evil and is apparently carrying your sons child." Angel nodded

"Yeah I guess that's it." Connor began to pick at the sandwich, then he murmured

"I'm not really hungry, I just can't look at food with out feeling sick, even though I could probably bring up every meal I've ever had right about now."

"That bad uh?"

"Well she lied, tricked, and used me. That seems to be all anyone wants to do with me."

"No, look I know things haven't been easy for you, well actually I don't but I can guess, anyway I just want you to know that well I'm here, if you need me."

"I know and I know I will need you soon enough, something big is about to happen, I can feel it! But I need to know I have you and the others by my side. Can you promise me that dad?" he looked Angel in the eye.

"Honestly I can say I will be by your side and I know that despite the fact that they find it hard to trust you right now they love as much as I do, so they probably will stand by you." Connor nodded and smiled

"Maybe I can try the coco, but don't expect much." He picked up the mug and began to sip at it. "Mmm good!" Angel grinned happily and ruffled Connor's hair good naturedly and said

"When you feel up to it come downstairs, we unfortunately need you to tell us where Cordelia is and what she is up to, plus I would like to know how you came back, cause I have no doubt she would have stopped you with magic." Connor nodded but didn't say anything. Angel left the tray there in case Connor got hungry.

"Angel is everything ok? We heard shouting." said Fred

"Yeah I just lost the plot a little, but it's fine now. Connor said something that I should tell you, he said that soon he'll need us all by his side, I already promised him I would but he needs you guys as well, can you stand by him?" The four shared a look, true they did care about Connor but he didn't seem to care about them, still he had tried to do what was right at the time, just he had either been told the wrong thing was right or had been confused.

"Ok Angel we'll be there if he needs us." said Fred finally

"As long as he stays out of trouble." added Gunn with a slight smirk

"Can't exactly promise that seeing as it seems to run in the family." Connor said coming down with the tray that was devoid of all food.

"I thought you said you weren't hungry!" teased Angel

"True but then I remembered I haven't eaten during the whole apocalypse, literally so I decided I may as well eat."

"You really haven't eaten since this whole thing started?" asked Fred whose appetite was huge for her size. Connor shook his head

"Survival came before food in Qour-Toth and it's a habit I never got a chance to break really." he answered casually and walked into the kitchen. He came back and asked Fred if there was anything for a headache. Fred said to check the second cabinet from the door. He nodded and went back in, they heard him opening and closing the door and then after a few moments he came back in rubbing his forehead.

"You ok kid?" asked Gunn

"Yeah just feel like I fell a hundred stories, hit my head and then got rammed by a truck."

"Did you get the registration?" chuckled Lorne, Connor looked bewildered, "Ok what did you two teach him in the three months Angel was gone because you don't seem to have taught him a thing!" the green demon exclaimed to Fred and Gunn who shook their heads in amusement.

"He is standing right here!" grumbled Connor good-naturedly then and only then did he notice Skip. "Who's that?" he asked

"Oh that's just Skip, he's got info on Cordelia, like what's happening to her and all that." said Angel glaring at the metal demon.

"Oh! Ok." shrugged Connor flopping onto the couch, feeling exhausted.

"Connor how did you realise what was happening, like what made you leave Cordelia?" asked Fred. Connor looked at her and said

"My mother told me."

"Darla?" asked Angel in surprise

"Yeah apparently the powers sent her with a message for me."

"Really!" asked Angel a little doubtfully. Connor chuckled quietly and shook his head

"You don't believe me yet you can't deny stranger things have happened, such as two vampires having a child." He looked at his father with an amused face. Angel half shrugged half nodded

"I guess, but how did you get away?"

"Well when all of you guys were gone and I couldn't find Cordelia I took some of your magic stuff and made a little teleportation ball, all I had to do was think of where I wanted to be and I and anyone close to me would be sent there."

"I thought you didn't like magic." said Wesley

"Not really but after Willow restored Angel's soul I figured not all magic could be bad."

"True but if this is the device you made then I have no idea how you pulled it off as it is one of the most complex teleportation spells there is!" said Wesley holding up an open book showing an illustration of a small ball with a swirling centre. Connor nodded and said

"That's the one."

"My God, I wouldn't have a chance of pulling this off at first try, Willow would be but then again she's the most powerful witch there ever was. How on earth-?"

"Don't ask me because if I knew I'd tell you!" cut in Connor,

"Ok, now what was the girl you were with for?" asked Angel

"A sacrifice, to bring the baby here sooner, without it, it would take a week, maybe two."

"Right good, now where is she?"

"Last time I saw her she was in a package plant, but she may have moved. I can go track her whenever you're ready."

"Not yet the Scoobies are on their way."

"The who?"

"Sorry you wouldn't get that would you, but they are the slayer and her friends."

"Faith's coming?" asked Connor perking up at the mention of the dark haired slayer.

"Yes but there's also Buffy the other slayer."

"Two slayers? I thought there was only one."

"Usually yes but lets just say that the Sunnydale group have a knack for the impossible."

"Sounds familiar."

"Yeah I guess it is like us."

"So two slayers and their friends are coming here, when?"

"They should be here in an hour."

"Cool so until then what do we do?"

"We rest! Take this opportunity to gather our strength and resources."

"I feel like I could sleep for a week!" declared Gunn yawning.

"I hear ya!" sighed Fred resting her head on her folded arms that were resting on the reception table.

"We should rest but stay down here so when the Scoobies arrive they don't find an empty lobby." suggested Wesley, sitting down on the pouf chair and leaning his head against the top of it.

* * *

"How much longer?" whinged Dawn from behind Spike who was driving,

"Bloody hell little bint! Stop asking, we'll be there in about half an hour now!" Dawn sighed and stood up and walked down the aisle of the bus and sat beside Willow and listened to the conversation about the strange girl who had caused this movement from Sunnydale to L.A.

"Maybe she's an angel!" suggested Andrew dreamily.

"An angel?" asked Buffy incredulously raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah she's as pretty as one."

"Well you gotta agree with him on that." said Willow smirking in amusement

"Thanks, but I'm not an angel!" smiled Calista not looking away from the window, watching the scenery pass by.

"Well what are you because I can tell you're not human?" asked Spike not taking his eyes off the road. Calista flinched from his comment

"I don't know what I am, what we are, but we are special and that's all I know, I don't even know my parents names." she murmured sadly. Spike seemed to realise he had upset her and said

"Well I know you're better then a human, I can feel it in my shiny new soul." She smiled and sighed tiredly

"How much longer?" Spike growled in frustration, making Buffy giggle.

"So boy or girl?" asked Faith

"I don't know."

"What would you call it if it was a boy?"

"I'd have to talk to the daddy." Buffy noticed while she seemed knowledgeable in the world, with herself she was vague and uncertain. Strange.

"Is the father in L.A.?" asked Anya

"Yes, he's waiting for me to come back."

"Well if he decides to run off on you I can have him punished for it, I used to be a vengeance demon."

"He won't I've known him too long, we are soul mates through and through."

"Lucky you." said Buffy a little jealous. Calista looked at her and smiled gently then turned back and shifted rubbing her tummy whispering

"Stop moving!"

"Calista?" asked Dawn concerned

"Sorry but there isn't a lot of room in there and the movement feels very strange and a little uncomfortable." She looked a little sheepish and looked away from them.

"So what is happening in L.A.?" asked Willow, "When I was there a few days ago everything seemed to be getting better."

"You were in L.A.?" asked Buffy accusingly

"Yes, but the only reason I didn't tell you was because I knew you would panic and do something dumb, when all they needed was for me to find Angel's soul that was missing in a jar and free it and restore it." said Willow as quickly as she could as if getting it all out at once would make it easier.

"He lost his soul? How- how did they do that?"

"They got a shaman to come in and remove it with a spell!" said Calista calmly. Needless to say Buffy was freaked out by that info. "Now Cordelia has been revealed as the beast's master and is pregnant with something evil."

"Cordelia? As in Cordelia Chase? The head cheerleader, Queen C Cordelia?"

"Yes, when Angel's friend Doyle died he passed on his visions to Cordelia and then when the visions were killing her she allowed herself to be made part demon. She then became a higher power and ascended to a higher plain, only to return without her memory, then a spell used to restore her memory woke up the evil and it has been working from the inside killing people and causing trouble." No one said a word only stared at her in complete shock. She stood up and walked down the aisle to sit behind Spike

"You're William the Bloody aren't you?" Spike smirked to himself

"So that name still carries does it?"

"A little, you never got along with Angelus did you?"

"Nope I never liked peaches never will neither."

"Well I'm sure you two will amuse us as long as you both fight clean."

"Hey we are not for your entertainment!" exclaimed Spike, insulted

"Well maybe not intentionally…" she said deliberately not finishing her sentence. Spike fumed and said

"For your information I already promised Buffy I wouldn't argue with Captain Forehead so you'll have to look for entertainment else where!"

"I bet you won't be able to last ten minutes!" she said then heaved herself up and walked back down winking at Buffy, who grinned back. Damn that girl was clever, play on Spike's pride, and he'll make sure he'll prove you wrong. If Calista's idea worked they wouldn't have to deal with Angel and Spike arguing all the time and the two might actually get along.

'_Yeah that'll happen when hell freezes over and The First starts handing out popsicles!'_ she thought to herself tiredly.

* * *

Night's Darkness 


	3. Together at last

Thank you to the two people who reviewed, it means a lot to me. ;-)

* * *

**Balance chp 3: Together at last**

Connor had been pacing impatiently for about ten minutes now, the other five were watching him like he was a tennis ball being hit back and forth.

"Kiddo, if you don't stop we're gonna end up with a hole that goes all the way to hell in the hotel, and that doesn't attract customers!" said Lorne shaking his head, he was getting dizzy from watching Connor's movements, about half an hour ago the kid had gotten very impatient, he began to fidget then he started to move from chair to chair as if each wasn't comfy enough then he began to openly pace around the lobby. He stopped now and looked at the ground as if trying to see what Lorne was talking about then started again.

"Connor!" called Angel slowly almost cautiously as if Connor might bolt if he was too loud or something. His son looked at him, "Is there something bothering you?" dumb question but it worked. Connor shook his head but didn't answer. He sighed and sat on the steps his back to the door.

"How much longer?" he whined

"They should be here any moment why?"

"Because I want to get the whole Cordelia thing explained as quickly as possible!" Angel winced, he had forgotten that this would be really awkward for Connor since he was the one who had inadvertently gotten Cordy pregnant. 'Oh boy this will be uncomfortable!' the thought had barely registered when he saw someone who made his soul sing! A petite blond woman, one who was stronger then any other woman he had ever met, his soul mate, Buffy Summers! She was here, at last! And any confusion he had had about his feelings for Cordelia disappeared out the window. She was followed by her dearest friends, and really Angel's first friends since he reclaimed his soul, Willow, Xander, and Giles. Then there was Dawn, god she had grown, Faith, Anya, a black man that Angel didn't recognize and Spike? What was he doing here? Behind Spike was a huge group of girls, they must be the potential slayers. Buffy opened the door causing the rest to look at the door.

"Buffy!" said Wesley happily

Buffy stared at him in shock,

"Wesley? Is that you under that amazingly handsome exterior?" she asked. Wesley went a little red and smiled as he came up to her and shook her hand warmly, "But no lack of British manners I see." she commented wryly

"Of course not, can't have the British being seen as nothing more then rude inconsiderate Americans!" retorted Wesley with his accent in full strength. Buffy laughed lightly and then turned to Fred who instantly began to babble

"Hi, wow so you're Buffy the Vampire Slayer? I'm Fred! Gosh it's so cool to finally meet you I mean I've heard so much about you!"

"Whoa Fred slow down I can't process language that fast!" exclaimed Buffy holding up her hands submissively with another laugh. Fred quickly calmed down

"Pryce? My god you look tested!" said Giles shaking Wesley's hand

"In more ways then one my friend." As the two watchers reacquainted Buffy's eyes fell on Angel and her heart stopped for one second and then started to hum.

Angel!

Her Angel, her blood and soul mate, in front of her looking at her in shock and delight,

"Angel?" she murmured quietly

"Buffy!" he whispered back. The electricity between them was broken by Dawn waving at Angel and saying

"Angel great to see you again!" Angel looked at her and said

"Dawn, god you've grown so much, becoming such a beautiful young woman!" Dawn smiled warmly

"Thanks, you look as good as always!" Angel smiled warmly.

"Angel, always a pleasure!" said Willow

"Willow, great to see you again and always will be."

"S'up Angel!" greeted Faith nodding her head. Angel nodded back

"How you feeling?"

"Pretty good, slayer healing is a great plus!"

"Angel is this the Scooby gang?" asked Gunn.

"Well, actually, due to contract infringements, we go by that crazy group of teenagers with that dog solving mysteries in a van." quipped Xander, "Or at least we would if we had a dog. And a van. And if we were all, you know, teenagers!" he waited for someone to say something but when Gunn just gave him a strange look he said, "Hey, I'm Xander Harris!" and held out his hand, Gunn shook it

"Charles Gunn! And this is Fred Burkle, Angel and Cordy mentioned you."

"Really did they mention my handiness in battle, my woman skills and my sharp wit?"

"No they said you babbled and did dumb things in a fight." Xander shot a glare at Angel who just smirked at Wesley who chuckled back.

"About Cordelia-" began Buffy

"She's evil!"

"We know!"

"How?" asked Angel

"We have a source who knows a huge amount!"

"And who would that be?" At that moment Calista stepped out of the throng of girls and walked down the steps slowly, looking around. Angel's eyes went bugged when he noticed her stomach, as did the others and they tensed up. Buffy looked at Angel questioningly and when Calista had her back to them Angel extended his arm in front of his stomach and pointed at the teen girl. Buffy rolled her eyes and shrugged 'so'. Angel mouthed

"Cordelia is…" and he nodded to the girl.

"You do realise it's quite rude to whisper or mouth!" said Calista turning to look at Angel stepping closer. As she did Angel felt a wash of calm engulf him.

"Calista?" called a voice softly over the silence, sounding awed. Connor stepped out of the shadows causing the Scoobies, who hadn't noticed him, to jump. She looked at him and her face broke into a delighted smile

"Steven!" Angel snapped back to attention at the mention of Connor's old name. Connor smiled gently staring at her, she giggled happily and extended her arms to her sides as if presenting herself, "Well how do I look since the last time you saw me?"

"Beautiful!" murmured Connor stepping closer, she blushed and giggled again.

"Always know how to make me blush don't you?" she teased, "Even in that stink hole of a dimension!" Connor nodded, by now he was in front of her and his arms wrapped around her waist regardless of her bulging stomach. She hugged him gently, resting her head on his shoulder

"I missed you!" whispered Connor into her ear

"Me too!"

"Connor?" called Angel warily. Connor looked up from her and looked at his dad quizzically, "What's going on?" Calista pulled away and, ignoring Angel took Connor's hand and placed it on her stomach. Connor's smiled broadened

"I forgot what it was like to feel that."

"Well it has been six months Steven!" she answered, with a giggle. Connor shook his head, amazed

"Feels longer."

"Ugh! Tell me about it!"

"I'm glad your ok." he said seriously

"Same here!" she replied with a soft smile, their hands entwining unconsciously.

"So is this the daddy?" asked Dawn eagerly, Connor and Calista shared a look and nodded. Angel felt like he was going to be sick! No way was this happening! But of course it was.

"But how, I mean Connor's only been here six months?" asked Fred, confused. Calista looked at Connor and murmured

"You didn't tell them?"

"When did I have the chance exactly?" answered Connor, "When Daniel died, when I sank dad to the bottom of the ocean, the three months I spent covering my tracks or the time when I had been made forget about you through magic?"

"Good point!"

"What is going on?" asked Gunn, frustrated.

"Maybe we should sort out the rooms for our friends and then discuss it as I have a feeling this is a long story." said Wesley quickly.

"Right there are over a hundred rooms in this hotel so take your pick!" said Fred smiling at the potentials. They beamed at the prospect of actually sleeping in a proper bed! They followed Fred upstairs and Angel then said to the Scoobies who had remained

"What the hell is Spike doing here?" Spike opened his mouth to retort but then he looked at the smirking Calista and said with forced calmness

"I'm here Angel to help, since I got meself a pretty little soul!" Angel felt his jaw drop. Spike? A soul?

"What did you say?"

"I said I got me a shiny new soul!" yelled Spike cupping his hands around his mouth.

"How? Did Willow curse you?" asked Angel as loudly

"Nope I went through some trials endured a load of pain and had a soul at the end!" shouted Spike

"You guys aren't on opposite sides of a football pitch!" said Buffy, "Although that might be the only distance that you two could be at with out arguing." she muttered to herself.

"Oh right!" muttered Angel quieting. There was an awkward silence broken by the strange black man, who said to Angel

"Sorry I didn't catch your name, Angel was it?" Angel shook his hand and said

"Yeah, I'm Angel and this is my crew. And you are?"

"Robin Wood, principal of Sunnydale high school."

"Oh so they finally rebuilt that place." commented Angel

"Yeah, word is you had a hand in blowing it up, as a principal I should be disapproving but honestly I think what you did was really cool!" smiled Robin. Angel chuckled and nodded in thanks for the compliment. Suddenly Anya said

"Why is there a horned green demon from Pylea here?" Lorne looked surprised at how she knew where he was from.

"Don't worry Anya, Lorne's a good guy." said Willow smiling at the empathic.

"Like Clem?" asked Buffy her brow wrinkling

"Yeah but Lorne's braver. Plus his singing is amazing!"

"You sing?"

"Well not to toot my own horn," chuckled Lorne, "But I could knock your socks off with my Motown! But my real gift is reading people when they sing. I can see their future, tell if they're good or bad, whether they are lying or not, among other things."

"And yet you didn't see that Cordelia was evil?"

"Uh well when I read her I saw something really bad was gonna happen but at the time I didn't realise what it meant. Then I had the information literally sucked out of my coconut and let me tell you I have never had such a bad hangover before!"

"You had your brain sucked out?" asked Buffy wide eyed

"Yeah, but please don't ask!" said Lorne rubbing his forehead.

"So this thing is inside Cordelia, now Calista said she was pregnant, so who's the father?" asked Willow putting on her thoughtful face, which she had perfected over the years. For some strange reason all the A.I.'s looked extremely uncomfortable. Before Angel could say anything though Andrew said,

"Where did Calista and that guy she was with go?"

* * *

"You can stay in my room if you want." said Connor opening the door for her. She smiled and stepped inside

"It's beautiful, better then anywhere I've been staying at any rate."

"Where have you been staying?" he asked leaning on the doorframe.

"Around, I decided to keep moving, see as much as I could, learn as much as I could."

"And what have you learned?"

"That teenage pregnant girls are frowned upon. The number of dirty looks I got or rather my stomach got was too high for me to count." Connor sighed

"This world is strange isn't it." Calista sat on the edge of the bed leaning back on one arm and placing her other hand protectively on her stomach.

"Not at all like Daniel described it really, at least how people live, some live in huge homes with tons of fortune, and care for no one but themselves, while some live on the street and care for all but themselves." She sighed; it was a strange sigh, mixed with sadness, wistfulness, contentment and joy. Connor stepped into the room and closed the door. He went and crouched before her.

"Do you know about…"

"Cordelia?"

"About her being pregnant with… my child?" she reached forward and stroked his face

"Yes I know, but it's alright, it's all down to manipulation." A beat. "Do you love her?" she asked suddenly. Connor hesitated unsure of his answer, "Do you love me?"

"Yes!" he said instantly and smiled, she always knew how to make him feel better even after- no he wasn't going to go there, at least not now.

"Now do you trust me?"

"Of course, how can I not?"

"Well I haven't exactly been great to you recently." she murmured looking away guiltily.

"You mean the six months you've been gone to protect our child from the demon Angelus?" asked Connor with a smirk. She shrugged

"When I couldn't reach you I got scared, I thought maybe you were…" tears formed in her eyes. Connor took her hand and pressed it to his lips. "And then I didn't return to find out for sure! I just stayed away because-"

"Because you were afraid!" cut in Connor gently, "Afraid that something might be waiting for you to come back so it could hurt you and the baby."

"Babies actually!" she said quietly not looking at him. Connor face went from calm to shocked

"W-what?" he asked his voice shaking. She pulled his hand onto her stomach and whispered

"Close your eyes!" He complied. There was an almost eerie silence then suddenly sounds faded into Connor's hearing. Giggles, babbles, whispers of nonsense. Connor opened his eyes and met her beautiful sea blue ones with awe

"Two!" he breathed, "Two children! I can hear them!"

"Of course you can, you're their father, and they love you as much as I do." she whispered softly. Connor slowly rose and sat beside her his hand still on her stomach. He stared at her face and slowly placed a kiss on her lips. She responded happily. They kissed softly like this for many moments, when Lorne opened the door and poked his head in. They pulled apart and Connor said reproachfully

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

"Sorry kiddo but you and the sweetie here had better get down and explain things." Connor mentally slapped himself for forgetting about that.

"We're coming!" smiled Calista as Connor helped her up and took her hand. They followed Lorne back down to the lobby where Angel, Gunn, Fred, Wesley, Giles, Buffy, Xander, Willow, Anya, Spike and Faith were gathered filling each other in on what was happening, they stopped when they saw the trio.

"I really hate it when they do that!" muttered Connor into Calista's ear. By the looks he was getting from the newcomers he guessed they had been told about Cordelia and him.

"So how do you two know each other?" asked Fred. Calista and Connor shared an amused look, that question kind of understated their relationship. But before they could answer Buffy asked

"Who are you?" to Connor. Connor looked at Angel in surprise and hurt.

"Uh Buffy, Connor is my son!" said Angel delicately

"Your what?" shouted the Scoobies,

"How?" asked Giles

"When!" asked Xander

"Who?" asked Spike

"Would you like to know where and what?" asked Connor sarcastically. They looked from him to Angel and back again.

"I can see what, 's a bloody boy!" said Spike his eyes wide.

"When did this happen?" asked Giles

"About a year ago now."

"Well don't you think he's a bit too old looking for a one year old?" said Anya

"Well there's this whole thing with me growing up in a hell dimension for seventeen years." said Connor casually

"Hell dimension?" asked Buffy, her eyes wide.

"Yep good old Qour-Toth!" smiled Calista, Giles' eyes lit up with recognition at the name

"Qour-Toth, the worst hell dimension there is, but nobody's supposed to return from there."

"Well I did!" smirked Connor

"And he earned the name Destroyer in the place!" said Calista proudly, Giles eyes bugged out in shock.

"How do you know all this?" asked Gunn suspiciously

"Because I was there for all of it. Daniel came to Qour-Toth with Steven and found me in a cave, as a baby no older then Steven was. He knew that I was special like Steven and he knew we were soul mates." Connor smiled softly and rested his forehead on the side of her head, ignoring the completely shocked looks on his friend's and father's faces.

"Pardon me but if you two grew up in Qour-Toth together, then where were you when Connor and Holtz came back." asked Wesley Calista smiled as she remembered

_(Flashback)_

Calista and Daniel Holtz were standing by the tear in reality; Daniel was smiling proudly at Steven's genius

"So this tear leads to the world that you've told us about before we went to sleep?" murmured Calista with child-like awe. Daniel nodded

"Yes now all we have to do is jump and there we'll be."

"Well as they say age before beauty!" smirked Calista, Holtz chuckled and with a great leap he jumped through, she quickly followed. Holtz landed not quiet as gracefully as Steven had and Calista did land as gracefully. She extended a hand to help steady Daniel and he took it gratefully. Calista noticed the two unconscious people on the ground.

"Who are they?" Holtz looked at the woman and the man, and answered

"They work with the demon, but only because he's tricked them into thinking they are fight on the side of light." She bent down and touched the woman's face; she was so pretty, with brown skin and many colours of brown and blond in her hair.

"Should we take them with us?" she asked turning to Daniel.

"No they wouldn't understand, and besides the demon maybe able to follow their scents." She nodded and looked through the glass of the door, she walked as if in a trance and opened the doors to enter into the garden. She drew in a breath at the beauty of the place. Daniel watched happily as she gently touched the plants and looked up into the sky in complete awe.

"Calista!" he called softly. She turned to him an excited smile on her young face. He approached her with a smile, when she gasped and placed a hand on her stomach, which only had a slight bulge to it, being only three months pregnant. Daniel quickly came up to her with a concerned face and asked what was wrong. She shook her head and said

"I don't know." He placed a hand on her stomach and waited. He smiled as he felt it,

"The child is kicking!"

"Kicking?"

"It's their way of saying they're happy!"

"Then they must know where we are." Her face was delighted and child like. Daniel laughed.

"Come we had better buy you some clothes, what you're wearing isn't quite the fashion."

_(End Flashback)_

"That clothes shopping thing was pretty strange, especially since I was treated like a fool." she finished with a smile.

"Ok so that's how you got here, now where did you go?" asked Angel

"I can fill that one." Connor smiled

_(Flashback)_

Steven made his way down an empty street following the scent he had picked up on the street where he had left Angel. He came to a stop and Daniel stepped out of the shadows

"Hello son!"

"Hi dad!" Calista stepped out from behind Daniel and hugged him tightly. Steven wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered

"Nice outfit!" she giggled softly and replied

"Back at you!" Suddenly she pulled away and placed his hand on her stomach. Steven gasped as he felt a movement.

"The baby is kicking, their way of saying hello to their father!" Calista chuckled, Steven smiled but then his eyes widened

"No! You shouldn't be here, either of you!"

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't kill Angelus yet! It's not safe for you, especially you Calista, he might come after you and hurt both you and the baby." Calista looked at Daniel in fear, he had never said that there was a chance that might happen. Daniel clearly hadn't thought of that by the worried look on his face.

"What do we do?" she asked

"Hmm, I don't know, perhaps… no I couldn't ask of it." murmured Daniel pacing slightly

"Ask what?" he sighed sadly and said

"Maybe the best plan is for Calista to leave the city until the child is to be born and Steven and I say it's alright to return or we come to you." Both teens looked horrified at the though of separating but they trusted Daniel and he rarely was wrong. They looked at each other, and Calista whispered

"It'll only be six months, and that's a small amount of time for a lifetime." Steven nodded swallowing, he didn't like the idea of her being alone in the world. She hugged him again tightly and then hugged Daniel who gave her some things and the bags that held her new clothes. She then turned and left.

_(End Flashback)_

"And I haven't seen her till now." ended Connor wrapping his arms around her waist and over her stomach. She placed her own arms on his and leaned against his chest.

"I need to sit down!" said Angel falling onto the couch.

"So where does the whole you forgetting to mention her bit come into play?" asked Xander a bit of sarcasm coming into his voice.

"When Cordelia did that thing with the glowing when Steven attacked her the thing inside her added a memory suppressant that blocked out all memory of me and but didn't change who he was or anything major like that!" said Calista.

"Um Calista?" muttered Connor

"Yes?" he whispered something in her ear, "Oh!" she murmured, "Ok! I actually knew that but… habits you know." He nodded and gave her a small hug of comfort.

"Uh, Lorne, maybe you should read her, just to be on the safe side." said Fred carefully choosing her words. But of course Connor wasn't happy, because he could smell the rat.

"Why?" he asked quietly and suspiciously, tightening his grip on her.

"Just so we have the all clear. Connor it's really for the best, besides if something is meant to happen in her future, then knowing what it is may be a help." Connor opened his mouth to answer when Calista turned in his arms and whispered in his ear. His face softened and he nodded, Calista smiled and then stepped out of his embrace to face Lorne, placing her hands on her hips, with a business-like face.

"So what should I sing?"

"Anything buttercup." said Lorne smiling, he could feel nothing but good vibes from her, "Just a few bars is all I need."

"Um ok." She suddenly looked embarrassed as she timidly began to sing, but her voice grew louder and more confident as she sang

_/ Well I couldn't tell you_

_Why she felt that way_

_She felt it everyday_

_I couldn't help her_

_I just watched her make the same mistakes again_

_What's wrong what's wrong now?_

_Too many too many problems_

_Don't know where she belongs_

_Where she belongs/_

There was silence as they waited for Lorne's verdict. He stood up and walked over and hugged Calista. She looked more then a little freaked out.

"You poor little thing!" said Lorne sadly.

"Lorne?" asked Angel warily, the empath's sudden behaviour was unnerving.

"Sorry Angelcakes but the sweetie's aura was screaming for a hug!" Lorne explained hugging a near terrified Calista even tighter.

"Um as much as I love affection I kinda need to breath!" she gasped out, Lorne quickly let go and said

"Sorry sweet-pea, like I said you needed a hug."

She nodded slowly and said

"Right." and then quickly hurried over to Connor as if afraid someone else might try to hug her like Lorne did. Connor decided to take her hand as if he wrapped his arms around her it might be seen as a bit hypocritical. Why he thought that he had no idea.

"So we're sure she's on our side?" said Gunn still wary.

"Oh, yes most definitely!" assured Lorne, "We have never seen such a pure sweet goodness like our girl here."

"Basically yes she is on our side!" said Connor his jaw was set, his eyes daring anyone to say they disagreed. Calista placed her hand on his shoulder, he looked at her and relaxed, a small smile crossing his face. Only she could have that effect on him. Angel didn't know whether to cry or laugh or yell at Connor, this was all over whelming for him. He wanted to cry because he knew it was because of him she had left L.A., if she hadn't then for sure Cordelia wouldn't be pregnant at least not with Connor's child. Laugh at the craziness of the situation or yell at Connor for not telling him about Calista. Then again as Angel pictured how Connor should have told him, that really didn't work. He just shook his head and asked Buffy,

"How trained are your potentials?"

"Pretty good but they could be a lot better." she admitted

"Well we can start training tomorrow."

"Oh for the love of Pete!" said Skip unable to keep his mouth shut, "When will you people get it? It doesn't matter how hard you train, or how much magic you wield this is something you can't fight! Something you'll lose to in the end."

"Shut up Skip!" growled Angel threateningly, "No evil is invincible, they all have a weakness, we just have to find it!"

"Well I got news for you buddy this evil hasn't got a weakness."

"Yes it does!" murmured Connor glaring at the demon, everyone looked at the teenage boy, "In the package plant, when Calista shattered the spell that hid my memories of her, well lets just say I got pretty pissed, Cordelia seemed afraid of me then, I'd say it's weakness is the fact it's dependent on Cordelia and anything that happens to her happens to it." Angel felt proud of his son's quick detective work,

"That's true but there is another weakness." said Calista stepping around Connor to face the bigger demon smiling sweetly, "Me!" Skip looked her up and down and then began to chuckle then it quickly became a loud mocking laugh. Calista didn't lose her smile and she waited patiently for Skip to stop.

"You!" chortled Skip, "A pregnant teen human? Please!" Calista cocked her head to the side slightly and the smile became smug.

"Human? I'm not human! I am like Connor, a child of vampires!" Skip suddenly looked terrified of her as he shook his head in denial

"No, no, no! This isn't happening, there is no chance that the one thing that could stop it is- oh crap!" he realised he'd said too much. Calista smiled even more and turned to the Scoobies and A.I.'s who were shell-shocked.

"Yo-you a-are a ch-child of two vampires?" asked Angel stammering

"Well that's what we think, more because, I'm as fast as Connor, as strong, and my senses are as sharp, among other things."

"That can't be! No vampires have ever had children before Angel and Darla and besides we would have heard if another vampire had had a child."

"Not if she was from another dimension!" said Connor quietly.

"Well I suppose that's possible." said Giles working the idea over in his head.

"Well now that's clear, how about we discuss how to stop this apocalypse?" Calista said brightly clapping her hands. They all looked at her a little incredulous

"You're new at this aren't you?" said Buffy

* * *

Night's Darkness 


	4. United and Divided

**Balance chp 4: United and Divided**

Dawn, Molly, Rona, Kennedy, Vi and Amanda were in Dawn's room, just lounging around, and off course doing what girls do best,

"What do you think of that black man?" asked Molly

"He was cute, kinda macho." smiled Vi

"Yeah but what about that dark, spiky haired guy, he was sooo hot!" sighed Rona rolling onto her stomach on the bed.

"That's Angel, he's my sisters ex-boyfriend, just to tell you, plus he's a vampire with a soul!" chuckled Dawn, amused at the shocked looks on the potentials faces.

"Whoa! How many are there?" asked Amanda incredulously

"Just the two… I think, but they got them in totally different ways, Angel was cursed with his, Spike went through trials for his."

"He was cursed? What do you mean?"

"He was cursed by gypsies in Romania, to suffer by remembering all the people he's killed, but if he experiences one moment of true happiness it's bye, bye broody good guy, hello scary evil Scourge of Europe."

"You mean Angelus?" asked Molly wide eyed

"Yup!"

"But he was one of the worst vampires there was."

"Now he's one of the best!"

"Hey I thought we agreed no slayer or slayer related talk!" chided Kennedy with a smile

"Right, so what about that guy with the stubble, he was hot!"

"Yeah, especially if you knew what he looked like before, a snotty, full of himself watcher! I gotta say I'm already loving the new Wesley."

"Mmm he is good looking but we all know who the cutest is!" smiled Vi slyly

"Yeah only problem is he's clearly taken!"

"That cute guy that was with Calista?"

"Duh!"

"Omigod! How cute is he? I mean seriously if he weren't with someone all ready I would be doing everything in my power to be catching his eye!" Dawn gushed

"Well I'd like to see you try!" chuckled Calista leaning on the doorframe; the door had been open the whole time. Dawn blushed in embarrassment. "Giles wants you all down in the lobby for a briefing with him Buffy and Angel."

"Ok!" they said blushing and rushed past her. She watched them disappear and then turned around to see Connor watching her with a small smile, leaning on the wall. She smiled and walked up to him slowly. As she reached him he put his hands on her hips and pulled her close enough to kiss her. She responded happily and their kiss deepened, finally they broke apart and Connor said in a husky voice,

"Lets go to our room!" Calista liked the way he said 'our room', they hurried to the room and no sooner had the door closed did they find each other's mouths again. They walked over to the bed and lay down on it and continued to kiss passionately yet softly and gently.

"Mmm! Connor!" she whispered seductively kissing along his jaw as he gently stroked her hair. Her stomach was pressed against his and he felt the kick at the same time as Calista. They both began to laugh happily and she tucked her head under his chin. He wrapped his arms around her and sighed contentedly. Calista chuckled lightly suddenly and she said quietly

"Do you remember when we first kissed?" Connor laughed lightly and nodded

"Yeah!" and closed his eyes as he remembered,

(_Flashback_)

In Qour-Toth, Daniel was going to go hunting while the two fifteen year olds stayed in the cave relaxing after a strenuous fight with a herd of sluks. He walked out and disappeared into the hills. Steven watched him go then turned and went inside to find Calista draped over the animal skin blankets, in her animal skin clothes, they were really no different from Steven's except she didn't have the trophies Steven wore across his chest, and her clothes showed her, for lack of a better word, assets. Steven's eyes lingered on her chest for a second then quickly looked at her face. He said teasingly

"What makes you think you deserve to lie there? I killed the most demons, so I should get the blankets!"

"Oh come on, there's enough for both of us here!" said Calista stretching luxuriously and then scooting over towards the wall. Steven went and sat on the pile leaning back so his shoulders rested against the wall and his backside was pressed against her hip. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"There's enough room to lie down as well, you know!" Steven shot her an amused glance, and slowly lay down on his back. She lay on her side, and snuggled into him, he put his arm around her shoulder and she rested her head on his chest. She buried her face into his chest softly and sighed happily.

"You smell nice!" she murmured already half asleep. Steven blushed and muttered thanks as he dug his back into the blankets trying to get comfy. Soon they were both asleep. During the night Calista moved so she was lying on top of him their legs intertwined and her forehead resting on his chin. Steven woke up a few hours later to see her like this and was intrigued by how much he liked it. He found his eyes drawn to her lips and felt an overwhelming urge to feel them on his own. He swallowed and gently took her chin in his hand, almost unconsciously and tilted her face gently up slightly. She stirred at his touch and he quickly let go, his face quickly going red. She opened her eyes and saw Steven looking at her strangely, his face flushed from something. She looked at him questioningly and noticed he was staring at her lips not her eyes. She shifted to try to look at him better but she accidentally rubbed against him and made him jump from the new sensation he got from it. They both looked down at where the feeling had come from and Steven burned in shame and embarrassment as she giggled in amusement. She looked back at his face and saw his face and her smile dropped slightly.

"Sorry! Just… wait what were you doing?" she asked her eyes narrowing

"What do you mean?" asked Steven innocently

"I felt you moving my face as I slept and then when I looked at you, your eyes were looking at my lips!" she said accusingly

"I was not!"

"Were too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was-" Steven was cut off by the fact that her lips touched his, gently, experimentally, a few times, then pulled away. She looked as shocked as he was,

"Uh… I um…" she started to stammer when Steven took her chin gently and kissed her softly but fully! She lingered there but then sharply pulled away.

"What? Why?" she breathed

"I honestly don't know! But I liked it!"

"Me too!" She quickly kissed him again this time her tongue slid along his lips, asking for entrance. He granted it and slid his own into her mouth and his hands found her hips, while her hands rested on his chest. Calista pulled away and began to kiss along his jaw. As she made her way down his neck, he kissed along her temples, then made his own way down her neck sucking her skin at the curve of her neck, she moaned lightly and murmured,

"That feels so nice!"

"Rea-lly!" drawled Steven suggestively and he sucked there again, this time swirling his tongue around gently on the skin. She gasped and made a noise of contentment.

"Yes! Oh god that feels good!" she whispered, raining feather light kisses on his face. They rolled over so Steven was pressing her to the ground. His kissed her deeply and she pulled him closer, making their bodies press against one another. He pulled away and saw she was a bit breathless, and her lips were red. He knew he was really no different.

"What's wrong?" she asked thinking he had stopped because of something bad. He smiled and shook his head gently, saying quietly,

"Nothing." He kissed her lightly, resting his hands on her hips. She rolled them over and pulled away smiling, her eyes twinkling mischievously, he suddenly realised how beautiful she really was. Of course he had always thought she was the prettiest thing in Qour-Toth but now it really struck him. He swallowed deeply and then kissed her softly on the lips. When he pulled back and saw her face, with her eyes closed and her lips slightly parted. Her skin was glowing with a heavenly light, and her hair, which was blonde, and usually tied back in a twisted bun had fallen out of it and curls were framing her face. She truly was her name. Her eyes opened and she smiled again, gently stroking his face.

She then lay down by his side, saying softly as he looked put out that she had stopped, "We should go slowly, I'm in no rush, are you?" he shook his head, agreeing with her, besides Daniel would be back any second and he was pretty sure he wouldn't want to walk in on that sort of thing.

(_End Flashback_)

"That was a good night!" she smiled, Connor nodded kissing her softly, then began to tickle her sides. She squealed and squirmed trying to get away, but Connor had her pinned between his arms and was merciless. She giggled uncontrollably and tried to tickle back but Connor just doubled up on his attack and refused to stop until she was a giggling heap. Then and only then did he stop and help her sit up. She was breathless and giddy and almost fell out of the bed. He caught her and helped her sit up and rested his forehead against hers. She smiled broadly and sighed, trying to catch her breath.

"Maybe we should go downstairs and find out what's happening!" Connor murmured, she nodded and he helped her stand up. Together they walked down to the lobby in time to hear Buffy finish up her speech to the potentials,

"…because the lives of two unborn babies are at stake here and as woman we have a instinctive duty to protect them! And we will! Now get to bed and get as much sleep as possible and no talking or anything we need everyone ready at a moments notice and well rested!" the potentials got up and only then did they notice Connor and Calista, standing there. Calista's lips were red and her face was a bit flushed from the tickling attack Connor had hit her with.

"Connor! Something wrong?" asked Angel, he was a little on the paranoia side of things right now.

"No we just wanted to see what the plan is." Connor answered casually

"Uh well we really haven't got one yet!" admitted Fred, "We need to get the potentials trained up and all that, figure out how The First and Cordelia are connected and how of course Calista's pregnancy is involved."

"Well L.A. is still a war zone out there, maybe tomorrow we can get the potentials out and slaying the demons and vampires that are out there!" suggested Angel, remembering how many demons and other evil creatures had been around at the time when he was Angelus and free.

"Yeah good idea so if we take every one tomorrow and that includes all normal people we can try and clean up the town!" said Buffy nodding

"Uh does that whole everyone include me because really I'd rather hold the base!" said Lorne worriedly

"And I'm a little tired and I just know you'd all just be watching me and not each others backs so maybe Lorne and I could stay and watch the hotel." said Calista sitting down on the step.

"Good idea, I mean I didn't mean you when I said every body and I suppose someone should be here in case of some problem. That can be Lorne and Dawn."

"Yes, yes, I could be a babysitter, or mommy sitter, I mean I watch that little tyke over there when he was a little tiny tot!" said Lorne quickly, pointing at Connor who shared an embarrassed look with Calista. A few of the potentials giggled at what Lorne said, but were silenced by a sharp look from Buffy.

"Ok, now, Willow, Giles, Xander, Robin and Andrew will be coming so will Wesley, Fred and Gunn be coming?"

"Of course!" said Wesley

"Sure!" nodded Fred

"Finally we're doing something in my area of expertise!" grinned Gunn.

"Uh Buffy, I'm coming too!" said Dawn stepping forward determinedly. Buffy instantly shook her head

"No way you are going to stay here with Calista and Lorne!"

"But Buffy you said everyone including normal people would be going and yet I can't go?"

"Yes!"

"That's so hypocritical!"

"Buffy if she comes she'll have more then thirty people looking out for her!" said Angel quietly, Buffy looked at him then back at her sister.

"If you get killed I am so telling!" she said to her sister. Dawn squealed and hugged Angel screaming 'Thank you, thank you, thank you', in his ear! Connor chuckled at the pained expression on his dad's face.

"This reminds me of you!" he said to Calista who looked affronted

"How?"

"Well every time me and Daniel went out hunting you always pestered him and me to go!"

"Well you try finding something to do in a cave for a whole day!" she shot back

"But the reason was the same as the one here!"

"Doesn't matter I still should have been allowed to learn how to fight!"

"Well you did eventually!" Calista thought for a moment then inclined her head and said

"Yeah that's true and I was really glad you taught me how to track and not Daniel!"

"Yeah his methods weren't exactly the best even if they were effective." agreed Connor

"Yeah the whole tying you to trees and leaving you there was a little scary."

"Yeah but I always escaped!"

"Yeah! After about thirty days!"

"Hey that was just in the beginning once it only took me five days!"

"I suppose!" they then noticed everyone was staring at them in open shock!

"Uh Connor?"

"Yeah dad?"

"How old were you when Holtz starting that training?" Calista and Connor looked at each other and then Calista asked him

"Six?"

"I think five, at least around those ages! Why?"

"You were five and Holtz tied you to trees, and left you?"

"Yeah! So I could escape and then follow his and Calista's scent. Five days is my best time!" said Connor nonchalantly

"Five days! Five days, Jesus Connor you were five!" exclaimed Angel angrily

"Yeah, I was five, so? I had to learn all of this to kill my father's family's murderer as he continuously reminded me!" snapped Connor getting annoyed. Calista sat up and rested her hand on his shoulder and whispered

"Talk about this later Connor, like when it's just you and Angel! Not when there's more then thirty strangers between you!" Connor looked at her and backed down. Angel was shaking with anger, how dare Holtz do that to his son! He's human, he has a soul for gods sake! Buffy quickly ushered the potentials out of the lobby and upstairs. Connor turned to leave and took Calista's hand. She held back and told him she just wanted to get a drink, he could go up ahead. He nodded and left. Calista walked into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of water and took a large gulp. She wiped her mouth and turned to find Angel right in her face looking murderous

"You're going to tell me everything that Holtz did to Connor!" he said threateningly. Calista wasn't fazed.

"Sorry you'll have to ask him about it. It isn't my place to tell." Angel slammed his hands down onto the counter, trapping her between them.

"No you're gonna tell me!" She glared at him fiercely and before he knew it she backhanded him across the kitchen.

"Lets get a few thing clear! First I am not someone who can be bullied! Second I am not afraid of you! Thirdly I've seen everything that Connor has gone through and I've had to pick up the pieces! And fourthly you can threaten me all you want but I know you won't hurt me, just like you couldn't kill Darla in the arcade because you could hear Connor's heartbeat and feel his soul! You can sense my babies souls and hear their heartbeats." With that said she spun on her heels and walked out.

"Not your best way to get information." commented Wesley dryly stepping into the kitchen and helping Angel to his feet.

"Yeah I noticed." grumbled Angel straightening his clothes

"Angel she's right though you should ask Connor, not force it out of Calista. That'll probably make things worse between you and your son." Before Angel could say anything he turned and left him alone.

* * *

Gunn headed to his room when he stopped as Fred stopped at the same door and he remembered that they shared the room. Evidently she remembered as she saw him come up behind her. They stared at each other uncomfortably, they hadn't really spoken since Gunn and Wesley had fought and Fred got hurt by accident.

"Oh, Charles, um hi." she said nervously.

"Hey." he returned quietly, "Um Fred? Can we talk?"

"Sure." She said opening the door and stepping inside. He followed and quietly shut the door, then turned to her. She was nervous, he could tell because she was fidgeting.

"Ok, let me start by saying I'm so sorry for hitting you, I didn't mean to, but then again I shouldn't have been fighting with Wes in the first place." She nodded in acknowledgement. They stood in uncomfortable silence then Gunn said desperately "C'mon Fred, say something, anything, I need to know what's gonna happen between us, are we over, do we still have a chance, what?"

"I don't know Charles, I mean, things are just so messed up." she said sadly, her Texas accent becoming stronger as she got worked up. "I mean why? Why did you kill him? I was the one he hurt, I wanted to do it, and you-"

"Did what I couldn't let you do," cut in Gunn, "Fred, I couldn't let you become a murderer, it's not who you are."

"It's not who you are either Charles!" she said angrily, "It's your hands his blood is on, it should have been mine, you had no right to interfere!"

"Just like you had no right making out with Wes!" retorted Gunn.

"You don't own me!" she snapped, enraged by his sexist words, "I can do what I like!"

"I don't want to own you, but I can't help but feel like that when I walk in on my supposed girlfriend and ex-friend making out!"

"It just happened Gunn, like that!" she snapped her fingers sharply. "And if you want to know, I pushed him away!" Gunn sighed softly, and murmured

"Look at us, we're yelling at each other, look Fred all I want is a straight answer, are we over, or not, it comes down to your choice and whatever you decide… I'll go with it." Fred swallowed as tears welled up in her eyes and now that the whole thing was laid out in front of her she knew what she had to do. She came closer and put her hand on his chest, and said

"I'm sorry Charles, but I just can't-" she sighed, "It's over." Gunn swallowed hard and nodded. She hugged him and said in his ear softly, "Please say we can be friends."

"Forever." He promised, hugging her back.

* * *

Night's Darkness 


	5. Attacking

Sorry, this one is very short! But it's really the only that is!

* * *

**Balance chp 5: Attacking**

"Ok everybody ready?" asked Buffy grabbing a sword.

"Ready!" chorused the large group, all armed.

"Ok let's go!" they filed out. Connor held back for a minute and gave Calista a quick kiss and then rested his hand on her stomach for a moment, then followed the others out. They walked down the street looking for some action. Angel Spike and Connor were in the front, using their senses to find some vampires or demons. They found a huge gathering of vampires on a street; they were just hanging out more then anything, until the slayers arrived on the scene. They fought fast and furiously, although Giles was more then once distracted by the fact that he was watching Connor fight, Buffy had to admit the kid was a damn good fighter, but then again he was Angel's son. Connor was taking on five vamps at once. He never stopped moving, the vamps didn't stand a chance. Angel kept an eye on his friends knowing Connor could hold his own. After a brutal but quick fight the vampires were all dust. Connor dusted the last one and looked around at the others, no one was hurt.

"Ready to go?" he asked

"Yeah lets go!" agreed Angel. They went off in search of more things to kill.

* * *

"So sweetie what do you want to do?" asked Lorne in his usual friendly way. Calista shrugged and said

"What could we do?"

"Uh we could research on mystical pregnancies, or just relax and chat!"

"Sounds good!" said Calista sitting down on the pouf chair. Lorne gave her a glass of water, which she took gratefully and sipped at it slowly. Lorne took his Ocean Breeze and sat down on the couch.

"So you and the kiddo uh?" Calista smiled and said

"Since we were fifteen!"

"Uh, look sugarplum I sensed something about what you went through with Connor, like what you did for him when he was… well you know."

"Yeah I know. But I would do anything for him, and I did."

"Boy I'll say, you actually sacrificed your dignity for him."

"No I didn't, I just helped him feel again."

"Well I gotta say I never heard of such a cure for that!"

"Well in Qour-Toth you had to be inventive."

"Yeah I kinda figured that." Calista stood up and walked around the lobby rubbing her tummy fondly.

"When we realised I was pregnant Daniel was so happy, he said that it was a sign that Connor, or Steven, was ready to take on Angelus and that we could leave Qour-Toth."

"Bet you were all real happy about that."

"Actually Connor wasn't, he thought of Qour-Toth as our home. He wanted to kill Angelus and then return, but Daniel insisted that this world was better then Qour-Toth ever would be."

"What do you think of it?"

"I'm still trying to decide." she answered quietly.

"Well what are you and Connor planning to do? I mean are you going to live here, find a place of your own, get jobs, raise the kids yourselves, what?" asked Lorne, that question had been bugging him for ages. Calista shook her head

"I don't know, I mean, we have so much to learn…" she trailed off and sighed, she then began to hum, 'I'm just a girl' Lorne basked in her soothing aura that he could feel from reading her when suddenly his face went greener then usual and he leapt at Calista. But he wasn't quick enough! A Harbinger leapt through the glass and shot an arrow at Calista, who tried to avoid it but wasn't fast enough. The arrow impaled her stomach and she fell back into the reception desk. The harbinger made to leave but Lorne pulled out a gun and shot it several times in the back. Meanwhile Calista sank to the ground looking at her stomach wide eyed.

"Mommy's hurt!" she whimpered.

* * *

Night's Darkness 


	6. Possession!

**Balance chp 6: Possession **

The slayers and co. had found another load of vampires, but were having a little more trouble, as this group was bigger. Angel ducked a blow and then staked the vampire. Connor was fighting three on his own but they were good fighters and he was struggling, Angel quickly went to help and dusted one while Connor used the others momentary surprise to stake them. He grinned at his dad, then suddenly his face contorted in pain and he placed a hand over his heart. His legs gave way and Angel caught him, he watched wide-eyed as Connor began to glow! Then from Connor a wave of light shot out and as it hit the vampires, they dusted. Then it disappeared as suddenly as it appeared and the group was left confused. Angel stared at Connor who was shaking in his arms.

"What the bloody hell was that?" asked Spike slowly,

"Connor!" exclaimed Fred rushing over, they all looked to see him struggling to stand up and realised he was the one who had done it.

"How did you do that?" asked Wesley coming up to him. Connor however seemed to been in some kind of horrified shock. He looked at Angel and his eyes were filled with terror.

"Connor that was so cool!" said Angel thinking Connor was upset by what he had just done. Just then his cell phone rang. He answered it

"Angel!" he listened for a moment and his face became confused and worried, "Lorne, Lorne, slow down! Now what happened? Oh god, no! Ok, ok we're on our way! Just hang on!" he hung up and looked at Connor who was going pale.

"Angel, what's wrong?" asked Buffy coming up to him.

"Something attacked Calista, shot an arrow into her stomach, Lorne says her pulse is fading…" Connor didn't wait to hear anymore he just turned and ran faster then he ever had back the way he came scaling a drainpipe to the roof and running over them back to the hotel.

"Connor!" called Gunn

"No let him, we have to go, c'mon!" said Angel, running back down the street, the others at his heels. When they reached the hotel they found Lorne waiting outside for them.

"Oh thank God you are here!" he exclaimed

"Connor?" asked Angel

"He's in there, he just came in and held her, not saying anything!" Lorne turned and hurried inside, Angel hot on his heels. They came in and Angel wanted to cry at the scene he saw before him. His son was kneeling on the ground, holding Calista who wasn't moving, an arrow lay near them, with blood on it, Connor must have pulled it out. Connor didn't look up as they filed in, he just held her.

"Oh God!" whispered Buffy. Suddenly Calista stirred and her eyes opened, she looked at Connor

"Daddy! It hurts!" she whimpered in a small child like voice.

"I know it does." said Connor calmly, "but you'll be alright." She nodded

"Mommy's making everything all better, but she's scared! We don't like it when she's scared!"

"Neither do I."

"Daddy's never scared." Connor didn't answer. Angel suddenly realised, the babies were talking through Calista! "But daddy's angry, why?"

"Because someone tried to hurt you." replied Connor

"Why did they do that?"

"I don't know but I promise I'll find out."

"Thank you daddy, you always protect us don't you, even if it means losing us."

"What do you mean?"

"When Cordelia glowed, you blocked out all of your memories of mommy, so Cordelia wouldn't find us, you didn't trust her, because you thought she would tell Angelus and he would hurt mommy."

"Yeah that's right."

"Do you remember when you did remember us and then Cordelia attacked you with a spell and made you forget again?"

"I do now."

"Daddy, you will find who wants to hurt us, but you won't understand. Daddy won't ever understand," she took his hand, "until he finds out."

"Finds out what?"

"What we are! You, mommy, us! Only then will you understand."

"How do I find out?" asked Connor, sounding a little desperate. She closed her eyes and then opened them again and shook her head sadly

"We don't know. They will call for you when you are ready." Connor nodded and kissed her brow.

"Go to sleep, when you wake up everything will be better."

"We know, will daddy always make things better?"

"I will, promise!" he whispered, as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Calista was lying on the ground still an hour later, and Connor was sitting in one of the chairs in Wesley's office, too lost in thought to talk.

"From what we can tell, the babies took possession of Calista. How or why we don't know, but…" Wesley trailed off unsure of what he was going to say.

"Well, Calista seems to be ok, her wound is healing itself, how that's happening I have no idea but she does seem to be better, I still think we should move her." said Fred coming in.

"If Connor didn't do that then there must have been a good reason, we leave her until she wakes up or Connor says it's ok." said Angel

"If he ever talks again." muttered Spike kneeling beside Connor, Angel shot him and annoyed look, so he said loudly, "I'm sorry but am I the only one who's concerned over the fact that this kid hasn't moved or said anything for over an hour?" they all looked at him and to prove his point he waved his hand in front of Connor's face. After a few times it seemed like Connor didn't even notice it and Spike looked at Angel with a smirk when Connor's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist in such a tight grip that Spike actually yelled in pain. Angel could help but smirk at his grandchilde, who glared right back.

"You have no idea how annoying that was!" said Connor, in a deadly quiet tone. Spike didn't know it but most creatures that heard that tone never saw another sunrise.

"Uh could you let go please?" said Spike delicately, slowly Connor loosened his grip and Spike pulled his hand away, wincing in pain as he shook it to get feeling back.

"The babies didn't possess Calista, they just held control as she focused on healing the wound." said Connor quietly looking at Angel.

"What do you mean?"

"She needed to completely focus on healing the injury and so needed to pull herself from control and completely concentrate on the healing of the injury." They all still looked confused, "Think of it like a wall, part of it was knocked down and an enemy could get in, you would have put as much effort as possible trying to fix it before the enemy gets in." he sighed tiredly, "That's as good as I can explain it, besides it's not the biggest problem we have. It seems we are on a timer. We only have a certain amount of time to stop Cordelia, because I just realised it's not the babies that can stop her, it's Calista."

"What?" Gunn asked his face scrunching in confusion.

"The babies are a part of it, but only as long as they are a part of her. They give her an extra power boost. But ultimately it's her that can stop Cordelia."

"Wait so the kids aren't the ones who can stop her, Calista is. How does that work?"

"She has some kind of power inside her, but she can't unlock it, she doesn't know how. But I think she can only unlock it as long as she is pregnant, once the babies are born she won't be able to find it."

"How did you realise this?" asked Wesley looking at Calista, Connor stood up and leaned on the doorframe, looking at her too. He seemed to be thinking,

"When I spoke to them, they seemed so small and afraid, vulnerable. It just hit me that it's Calista and not them who has to save the world."

"How did you know it was them and not, like I don't know Calista being delusional?" asked Fred curiously

"I don't know, I just had a gut instinct."

"And the glowing thing you did, which by the way was so cool?"

"Now that I can't explain." Connor then went and knelt beside Calista and touched her forehead. She stirred at his touch and opened her eyes. She smiled softly and he helped her sit up. She placed a hand on her stomach and sighed with relief. Connor hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" she smiled softly and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'll try!" she said, she knew as well as Connor did that was a promise that she really couldn't keep, of course people will try to harm their children. Connor pulled away and helped her to her feet and helped her to the couch. The harbinger lay dead by the door, no one had bothered to get rid of it. Now Angel went over to it and, kicking it, rolled it over onto its back.

"I know these guys, they're the minions of The First!"

"The what?" asked Gunn, coming over,

"The First evil, where all evil comes from." said Calista tiredly

"You're kidding! You mean evil actually has a source?"

"Not so much a source as a beginning." said Giles, cleaning his glasses.

"These are its minions, harbingers, we've been having trouble with them, The First is trying to eliminate the Slayer line, killing potentials and trying to kill me and Faith." sighed Buffy

"Well looks like they've got a new target!" said Gunn looking at Calista who was looking up at the ceiling, exhaustion covering her fair features. He had to admit he really liked her; she seemed to be the only one who could keep Connor under control, plus she was an intriguing person, innocent yet worldly knowledgeable.

"Lucky me!" she said sarcastically, Connor frowned in worry, but decided to worry after Calista was fully better.

"Maybe you should go upstairs and rest." She looked at him and nodded, he helped her stand up and half carried her up the stairs. He had her lie down and he covered her with the blanket. He sat on the edge of the bed, and stroked her hair, she sighed in contentment.

"Thank you Connor!"

"No problem."

"Could you stay here, please? I just want you near."

"Sure." He climbed carefully over her and lay down beside her, she snuggled into him and closed her eyes as he ran his fingers through her hair, gently. She quickly fell asleep while he couldn't make himself follow her. For hours he just watched her sleep.

"Watch her while you can!" Connor rolled over and his eyes widened as he looked upon Cordelia. Cordelia's beautiful brown eyes that once captivated him, that now had an evil glint in them, were burning with anger, but something else, jealousy?

"Cordelia!" he said standing up, his own eyes narrowing in hate.

"Connor! How can you abandon me? How can you abandon our child?" she asked pitifully, Connor rolled his eyes,

"Easy, I did!" Her eyes narrowed and she said

"For what, some tramp?"

"If she's a tramp then what are you?" smirked Connor, Cordelia wasn't pleased

"You would rather stay with a nobody, then the woman who's carrying your child, who will change the world?"

"If by changing the world you mean destroy it then yeah I would rather stay with Calista. Besides I love her!"

"Love her, you didn't even remember her until yesterday!"

"Because I had to protect her from you!" retorted Connor clenching his fists. "Besides," he said suddenly smirking, "She's prettier then you!" Cordelia snarled and flung her hand out at him. Connor was thrown backward into the wall. Calista woke up and sat up instantly, her eyes fell on Cordelia and her blue eyes darkened.

"Cordelia!" she snarled, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and standing up. Connor got to his feet and stood beside her. Both had identical looks of hatred of the woman before them. "What do you want?" Cordelia smirked and extended her arms as if presenting herself.

"I'm here to make Connor take responsibility for what he's done!"

"What I've done?" scorned Connor, "What about what you've done? You killed Lilah, brought the Beast here, blocked out the sun, you, you murdered that family!" he swallowed to keep from getting upset as he thought of that little boy and his teddy, both torn to pieces. Calista placed a hand on her belly and stepped forward,

"There is nothing you can do to make Connor go back to you! He's with me, not you, because we are in love!"

"Oh let me get a bucket so I can throw up!" sneered 'Cordelia'

"You only say that because you don't know love, you can't feel it, because you know nothing could ever love you, because you're a monster, an ugly, selfish, horrible monster." said Connor venomously, Cordelia threw her head back and laughed mockingly

"Well it's about time you grew a brain, honestly you say some sweet things, give you some stupid ideas about happy families and boom you're one whipped kid. Oh! And by the way whenever I called you special, I meant in a brain damaged way. You don't deserved to be loved, you should be locked up and studied like an alien." Connor smiled amusedly

"You know at one time that would have hurt me, but now, well, now I don't really give a crap what you say, and by the way if that thing inside you wants to convince me that's it's my child, whether or not we slept together, then next time don't wear such a tummy revealing top. Someone might see it move!" and before Cordelia could retort they turned and slammed the door in her face.

"Those brats are really starting to bug me!" she muttered bitterly.

* * *

Night's Darkness 


	7. Revelations

**Balance chp 7: Revelations**

Connor and Calista walked down to the lobby but Connor suddenly grabbed her arm and stopped her pulling her to the wall. She looked at him and he put a finger to his lips. They listened

"Seriously, guys I don't know what to do!" Angel's voice said, "Every time Connor and I seem to be starting to reach an understanding something happens to change everything one of us or both of us thought about the other."

"Angel, Connor is his own person, he grew up without you, he's like someone you're trying to make friends with, you have to get to know them before you can get closer." Wesley's voice said quietly

"How can I do that if he won't tell me anything about himself, I didn't even know he didn't like tomatoes until Fred said it to me! And I don't exactly want to regal him with my life, dead or otherwise. I'm not proud of how I used to live when I was alive and I'll be damned if I ever feel good about my life as Angelus!" Angel was clearly getting upset, "I mean, neither of us wants to share our lives, but if we don't then how are we going to reach an understanding?"

"Well you're doing ok now!" said Fred helpfully

"Only because Calista's here, it's like she has this magic touch, all she has to do is put her hand on his shoulder and he instantly calms down! And about that, what exactly are they going to do? Raise the kids? They're both still kids themselves, not to mention they really don't have a clue about this world. How do they expect to raise not one, but two kids on their own?"

"Are you saying that you won't be there for them?" asked Gunn sounding a tad annoyed

"Well no but I can't see Connor letting me near the babies!"

"You have so little faith in Connor!" snapped Fred

"This coming from someone who only yesterday was threatening him with a taser?" asked Angel incredulously

"Yeah it is coming from me! Connor, in case you haven't noticed, is actually trying to get along with you! We all see it, even in the way he talks to you, he's trying to open up, but lets face it he's been hurt by all of us, one way or another, he has had no reason to trust us, but I can tell he's making an effort!" They heard Angel sigh

"I just… it's all so much to take in, I mean, my son is about to become a father, and not with just one girl, but two, and one is the equivalent of his mother and the other, his sister!"

"Uh actually I know for a fact that they grew up never considering each other brother and sister, they always were just close friends! Well until they were fifteen. That's when they moved to the next base." said Lorne hesitantly,

"Oh! Well, still, both girls are to have a major part in the apocalypse, one on our side, and the other on the other side! Does anyone else think that the powers are trying to send me a message?"

"That your sons future isn't preordained?" said a familiar voice that neither expected to hear ever again. Connor and Calista shared a wide eyed look and then silently crawled over to the railing, peering over, like two children trying to see what grown-ups did when they weren't around. Standing in the lobby before the taken aback A.I.'s was Daniel Holtz! He looked just as he had before he died, his usual calm demeanour in place. Once Angel got over his initial shock his handsome face darkened and he growled out,

"Holtz!" Holtz nodded in greeting

"Angelus."

"What are you doing here?"

"To tell you something! About Steven."

"He goes by Connor now!" said Angel almost smugly, Holtz looked a little disappointed but it was quickly gone.

"It was his choice to make." he said diplomatically. Angel clenched his fists in irritation. Connor smirked in amusement as he remembered one of the things that got to Angel and Angelus, was that Daniel never lost his cool and was always well spoken.

"Yeah it was!" Angel gritted out, "Now what do you have to tell me?"

"Simply that Connor's future has never been decided. Like this demon here said," he looked at Skip who looked affronted, "Our lives have all been set, all major choices predetermined, sure you make choices, like what you will wear, eat, small things like that. But choices like who you will love, marry, hate they're ones that were already decided. But with him it is different, Connor's future cannot be seen, of course people will come up with plans for him, some will even seal them in stone and call them prophecies, but they are still just plans. In the end Connor has what everyone believes they have or wish they had," he looked up at them and smiled paternally, "The choice. The choice of whether you wish to fight for good or evil, the choice of who you love." Connor stood up never breaking eye contact with the man he had called father all his life, Calista followed his lead. "You have a life to paint while everyone else has theirs already done." Connor looked at Calista in questioning and Holtz said,

"Calista is special too, but she doesn't have a choice, it was made before she was born."

"Just what was my choice?" asked Calista her hands on her hips. Holtz gave her a look that said, you already know. Calista smiled gently and nodded, while Connor looked uncertain. Angel looked from Holtz, to Connor, to Calista and back to Holtz. It hit him then that no matter how much it hurt him he had to accept that Holtz was as much a part of Connor's life as he and Calista were. Holtz spoke again, to Connor, quietly and gently

"People will try to corrupt you, will try to use you but remember that it's always down to your choice, I made a decision that took away your chance for a happy childhood, but if I hadn't, you wouldn't be the boy you are or the man you will become, and Calista wouldn't be here for you. That was the only thing that was decided, that you two are for each other." Calista placed a hand on her stomach and smiled at Connor softly, her eyes full of love for him. He looked at her and his own eyes reflected the same devotion. He nodded in understanding and looked back down at Holtz.

"Thanks!" he whispered. Holtz nodded, smiled and was gone. There was an uneasy silence for several moments when Angel asked

"How do you feel Calista?"

"Oh fine, but I could still do with some rest."

"Then why aren't you asleep?" asked Fred

"Well it isn't easy to sleep when Queen Bee-otch is sending Connor flying across the room. What you say to her anyway?" she asked Connor, Connor smirked in amusement

"That you were prettier then her!" Calista giggled

"Wait, wait! Cordelia was here? In the hotel?" asked Gunn

"Yeah but I'd say she's gone now." said Connor calmly

"You mean you just let her go?" exclaimed Lorne incredulously

"Well I highly doubt she was dumb enough to just pop in." said Calista as she and Connor walked down the steps.

"She wasn't real, just an image." said Connor, "She had no scent."

"Oh, so it was all really carefree, chatting with an evil hell bitch who's plan is to destroy the world as we know it!" said Lorne sarcastically, his eyes wide with worry.

"Yeah pretty much, we insulted her, she threatened us, we had a quick and snappy comeback and then slammed the door in her face, pissing her off no end." grinned Calista proudly as if they had done something amazing. Angel stared at them stone faced, then said

"Why didn't you try to find out about what she's up to?" he cried angrily, "We have to stop her before she can go pop! But you two let a chance to find out slip because you wanted to piss her off?"

"Well if it's any consolation she wasn't interested in sharing." said Calista calmly, running her hand up Connor's arm to make him relax.

"Besides we know what she's planning! She's gonna try to find another virgin sacrifice, to bring whatever's inside her into the world." said Connor coolly, clearly he still wasn't comfortable with the fact that Cordelia was pregnant with some evil because of him. Who would be?

"Yes that's true and besides we don't know how to stop her without killing her. So finding where she is would be useless." said Wesley

"Finally someone gets it!" exclaimed Skip mockingly

"Shut it Skip! Or have you forgotten the Sphere of infinite agony that we can whip up?" threatened Angel

"No but I just realised that it doesn't matter how clever your little girl is, she still isn't powerful enough to conjure something as complex as that!"

"Well in case you didn't know we now have the most powerful witch in the world here and I'm sure she would have no worries about casting a spell like that!" smirked Wesley. Skip's eyes widened considerably and he clamed up. Connor grinned and whispered to Calista

"We don't need a spell with us around." She giggled and nodded, trying to hide her mirth behind her hand. Connor tickled her sides and she giggled even more. The thing about Calista was that she was extremely ticklish and Connor knew where the best places to tickle her were. So it wasn't long before he had to catch her as her legs gave way. The others chuckled at their antics, finding it touching how Connor could play about like a kid when he had a chance. Angel had never seen his son so happy before, it was like all the world's problems disappeared from his baby blue eyes and he was able to just act immaturely and enjoy it. Calista was now officially giddy and she softly slapped Connor on the arm saying

"You are unbelievable!"

"But you love me anyway!" he teased holding her close.

"Of course!" she sighed, mock resigned, but her bright smile was shining. Connor, somehow, picked her up gently by the waist and spun her around as she laughed.

"Aww, well ain't that something to see." grinned Lorne. Fred chuckled as the two finally sat down, still teasing each other.

"As much as I agree, maybe you two should get back to bed and get some more sleep." said Angel a bit reluctantly, he really wanted to see Connor laugh and smile but his parental instincts kicked in and the well being of the two teens was very important to him. They both groaned but stood up and headed back upstairs. Connor poked his head into the room, making sure there were no more surprises but there didn't appear to be any. So they got into bed and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

'Cordelia' gasped as she was suddenly assaulted with pain. She doubled over and coughed and gasped.

"That was just a small punishment for letting the Destroyer slip away!" came a disembodied voice. She looked up and saw the slayer, Buffy Summers. But there was no way she could have appeared out of nowhere like that so obviously it was The First,

"Don't you ever get tired of the pop in, pop out crap?" she scorned,

"Do you have any idea how much trouble those two Children of Vampires will be for us? They were enough of a problem the last time they were around but now they are allied with the champion and the slayer!"

"T-The slayer?" gasped 'Cordelia' worriedly, placing a protective hand on her stomach.

"Yes she and her friends are here in L.A and with them here, then the Children of Vampires and their troublesome spawn will be protected! And I have reason to believe the previous ones are not as gone as we thought." The First growled angrily and paced slowly around the room its arms folded across its chest. "Ugh, it's bad enough they're back, but to have them looking like the others… oh it just makes it all the more infuriating! They are the biggest threat to us, with or without the slayer and the champion."

"Do they realise the truth?" asked 'Cordelia worriedly, The First shook its head

"No but the children inside the girl have given a huge hint. How could you be so stupid as to not top up the spell you cast on his memory?"

"Well I didn't think they had a telepathic connection!" she snapped

"You fool; did you learn nothing from the last time? They are the impossible ones, they can do whatever they wish, but these two have to be even more special with one having the ultimate choice of the side he fights on and the other having the power to destroy both of us with the flick of her wrist!" exclaimed The First angrily.

"But she can only access it as long as she's pregnant, right?" said Cordelia

"Yes and they have yet to unlock it." sighed The First, "Which is fortunate for both of us, my Bringer was able to weaken her, but of course knowing their kind she'll bounce back up in no time."

"And bounce on my mate no doubt!" grumbled 'Cordelia' jealously. The First shot her a strange look to which she pointedly ignored. "Anyway, I need more time, my vessel isn't ready yet, and as per our agreement your minions have to protect me until then."

"I know the agreement!" snapped The First, "But I won't have them running around after you. They will protect you, nothing more, you will have to take care of the ritual yourself!"

"Well if we hold out a week or so more we won't need to go to all that trouble." said 'Cordelia' smoothly, although inside she was getting annoyed.

"And if you know what's good for you, you will bring your ass into this world as soon as you can, not when it's the most convenient time for you!" said The First angrily and then it was gone. Cordelia fumed

"God I hate that bitch!"

* * *

Night's Darkness 


	8. Painful times

Oh God! So sorry, bloody Junior Cert Home Ec Skirt Project:-(

* * *

**Balance chp 8: Painful times**

"Left kick combo!"

"Yaah!"

"Cross block kick!"

"Ka-yaah!" It was about ten o' clock and Buffy was training the potentials in what would have been a ballroom of sorts in the hotel. They had plenty of space, and Angel and Giles and Wesley were setting up some punch bags and other things for them to practise on. Connor and Calista sat watching with great interest as the girls did different fight combos and movements. Already they had picked out the strongest and the weakest, but found the strongest weaknesses and the weakest strengths, for future training. Kennedy was clearly the strongest of the lot, with an Irish girl named Sorcha was a close second. As it turned out Angel could speak enough Japanese to get by and so the Japanese potential was finally able to get her wishes across. Giles was incredibly embarrassed when he learned she was lactose-intolerant since he kept offering her milk and other dairy products. Things slowly seemed to be coming together. The potentials were all becoming friends, even with language barriers, Calista was fine now or so she said, and to top it all off the city seemed to be deserted for now and hopefully until this whole thing blew over.

"Ok everyone take a break." said Buffy finally. The potentials relaxed and moved over to where the water and chairs were, relaxing and chatting. Calista watched them for a moment then back at the deserted floor. Connor caught the look and smirked

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"Do you think I'm thinking this?" and she punched him across the room. There was a deafening silence as the group stood there shock, as Connor stood up with a cocky grin and Calista hopped to her feet with an equally cocky grin.

"So you can still fight!" said Connor as they began to circle each other.

"Can and twice as good as the last time we went." she smirked, Connor threw a punch to her face, which she blocked with her arm, she then twisted under and pulled his arm behind, Connor countered by leaping up and somersaulting backward behind her. He grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back, careful not to hurt her. Angel went to stop it but Lorne stopped him saying

"They're just playing!" Calista was free and lashed out with a sharp swipe of her fist.. Connor blocked and moved for a jab. Once the others got over their initial shock they had to appreciate the almost dance like quality of the mock fight. It was like they moved to compliment each other as well as oppose. Their strength and speed was something that none of them had ever seen before. Sure they had seen fast moving creatures and super strong demons, but these two seem to be in their own category, like they were of and removed from the world. It was amazing to watch. Of course neither Connor, nor Calista really noticed this, they were out to win the competition, just like they had when they were smaller. They were both fiercely competitive and they had an unbelievable determination to win and never give up. It was what kept them alive in Qour-Toth.

"So looks like you've improved a bit too!" said Calista, delivering a roundhouse kick to Connor's gut. "But ya still ain't good enough to beat me!" she laughed happily then her face contorted and she grunted in pain. Connor regarded her with worry when she suddenly gasped and her arms went around her belly sinking to her knees. Connor was kneeling beside her in a flash. She groaned a little and Connor instantly let guilt claim him.

'_What the hell was I thinking, starting a match with her?'_ he yelled at himself. Calista shook her head and squeezed his shoulder. She just managed to grind out

"N-n-not your f-f-fault! It's just-" she cried in pain, "Contractions!" at once there seemed to be a complete air of panic about the hotel. Angel and Spike went and picked her up, leaving a very bewildered Connor. Calista tried to speak but another hit her and she cried out again.

"Ok we need to get her to the hospital, the contractions are very close together-"

"No!" Calista shouted cutting Wesley off. "It's not real, ju-just false contractions! I-I've been getting them since very early in the pregnancy, I just need to wait for them to pass." She cried out again as another hit her. Connor had caught up with them as Angel and Spike lowered her onto a chair. He took her hand and gently squeezed it. She squeezed hard then he expected but he managed to keep himself from wincing. Angel watched her worriedly and wrung his hands. Spike watched him in amusement, he had never seen Angel or Angelus nervous before, angry, sad, passionate, happy sure, but nervous was a new one. Buffy saw it too and saw the almost terrified look in his eyes as he watched the girl bearing his grandchildren writhe in pain. Fancy, Angel, a grandfather! Finding out about Connor had been shock enough, she could only imagine how Angel felt when he found out about Darla being pregnant, but now Calista was pregnant with Connor's children!

'_Hoo boy, do we live in a soap opera!'_ she thought as she took a back seat as Calista was dealt another blow. God, she bet that hurt! Calista suddenly quieted and then she sighed in relief.

"See all better!" she smiled at Connor reassuringly and attempted to sit up but Angel placed a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down.

"Calista I think you should just stay put for a while, you only recently almost lost the babies, you should just rest and regain your strength." Calista looked him in the eye and to everyone's amusement she pouted like a five year old. She hit her fists against the chair's arms and then crossed them over her chest and slouched in the chair. Connor rolled his eyes and smiled as she then gave Angel her best puppy eyes and said sadly

"I just wanted to be able to protect my babies if I ever needed and I heard it's very bad if I don't stay active in the last stage of pregnancy." Angel wilted before their eyes, and he felt guilty for no reason.

"Oh ok you can still do stuff just be careful and don't overexert yourself." Calista beamed at him and hopped out of the chair and practically bounced out of the room. Connor locked eyes with his dad and in his there was both amusement and disappointment as if he was thinking, 'I would have last way longer then that!' Angel shrugged helplessly and Connor chuckled lightly and shook his head as he left after Calista.

"You are such a bloody poof!" said Spike slowly as if he were talking to an idiot.

"Yeah whatever peroxide boy!" snapped Angel irritably

"Ooo peroxide boy! That's a real low blow!"

"Then it must not hurt much!" sneered Angel

"Just what are you trying to imply?"

"What do you think I'm implying, you egotistical Englishman!"

"Oh sod off you drunken, stupid Irishman!"

"That the best you got, William?" taunted Angel, "Cause if it is, then you've clearly lost your touch, not that you had much by way of one before!" and he then turned and left for Wesley's office.

"Why that- argh!" snarled Spike turning and storming out another door. Xander was chuckling behind his hand while Buffy looked disapproving and then followed Angel out. She came into the office without leave and placed her burning eyes on the dark vampire before her. Angel looked up from a paper he was studying

"Buffy! Something wrong?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong! You and Spike, I am sick of you two arguing! Spike promised me he would try to get along with you for the apocalypse, but it only works if you put forth effort too! We are at war here, Angel, and all you can think about is insulting Spike?" Angel stared at Buffy in shock, whatever he'd expected her to say that hadn't been it.

"Excuse me Buffy but I can't exactly turn off the fact that I don't like Spike, besides he started it!"

"Angel, if you want to protect your son and Calista then you have to work with Spike, he's one of the strongest warriors we have! Now if either of you start a fight or anything then both of you will be the ones who will need to go to the hospital, not Calista!" and she turned and left, leaving Angel growling in distaste at the thought of getting along with Spike.

* * *

Cookies and reviews go hand in hand.

Night's Darkness


	9. Conversations with big fish!

**Balance chp 9: Conversations with big fish**

Calista lay on the bed, feeling exhausted, she had spent a lot of energy healing herself and protecting the babies and then the contractions had zapped what little she had regained from the night before, and now said babies seemed to be trying to kick their way out of her stomach. She loved them and would always, but there were times when she just wished they would hurry up and come out. She had found things almost impossible, living on her own, in a strange world. She had lived out of soup kitchens and had trained by hunting vampires. When she had been around eight months down the line things got strange. A psychic, who she knew had been following her for many weeks, had approached her. He had told her, her children were important for the next apocalypse and that she had to get the slayer and find her mate. She had finally found out that he was ok, but that he didn't remember her because of Cordelia. She had been all set to go and reclaim Connor but the psychic had said she had to track down the slayer and approach her with the suggestion of her and her people going to L.A. Calista had headed for Sunnydale but the trip took a while and then she ran into trouble. A young man, with a strange accent had attacked her and tried to kill her. He called her dirty and a whore and all sorts of horrid names and she had trouble fending his attack off since he was stronger then her. She had managed to knock him back enough so she could turn and run. He had given chase for hours and she was exhausted by the time she had reach Sunnydale after running most of the way there. She had shaken him off there and then began to watch the slayer, finding as much as she could before approaching them. Now she was here and was with her mate, Steven or Connor it didn't matter to her which he was, as long as she was near him. Just as she thought of him Connor came into the room. He smiled at her and sat beside her leaning on his hand that he put over her. She sighed happily, yet tiredly. Connor regarded her with a passive face and then he whispered

"You're exhausted!" She touched his face softly with her fingertips and said just as quietly

"I'll be fine." He gently took her hand and pressed it to his face. "Your kids are just trying to make a football out of my spleen!" she joked as the babies set off on another round of kicks and punches, they always got more active when he was near, as if they knew he was near and wanted to show how glad they were. Connor placed his other hand on her tummy and smiled as he felt them.

"Wesley said to me that he thought it would be a good idea if you went to the hospital so we could have a scan done, whatever that is." he said, Calista sighed again, this time irritably

"They still don't trust me, they just want to see if our babies are human or not." Connor's brow creased in annoyance,

"Nice to know they trust us so much." he muttered bitterly. She sat up and looked him in the eye going serious

"Hey, it's fine, you know as well as I do how hard it is to trust strangers and that's what we are. They are a family and you are a new part of it, besides they aren't sure which side your on, because from what I've heard you have kinda been switching sides when it comes to them, one moment your with them the next your against them. They can't help but be wary around you, and I'm a complete stranger to them who just turned up ready to pop with your child while another woman is in the exact same position except she's a, evil and b, a part of their family. This is a lot for them to take in, so just be patient, if you warm to them they'll warm to you." Connor sighed and averted his gaze preferring to look out the window. Calista sighed again and flopped down back on the bed. Connor unconsciously rubbed her tummy in soothing circular motions, which seemed to make the babies settle down. Calista smiled slightly and she was quickly asleep. Connor on the other hand was thinking, about his family, both of them. He knew Calista was right, the others didn't have any real reason to trust either of them, but he needed them to, he knew it in his heart. Something was coming, growing up in Qour-Toth had taught him how to tell when something was coming, in time he even knew how big it would be. And this… this would be something huge! He looked at Calista, she looked like an angel fallen from heaven, she always had, Daniel had named her his little angel when they were children, before everything started to change, feelings changed, personalities were altered, the dimension was a dangerous one, not because of the demons, but the actual dimension itself, it got inside you, affected you. Calista had never been affected but both he, Connor, and Daniel had, leading them to do things they were both disgusted and ashamed of. Calista had been the one who kept them together. Connor couldn't help but think back to a point when he realised how much she meant to him.

_(Flashback)_

A scream of pain brought Daniel and Steven running back to the cave. Just out side it lay Calista, demon towering over her one of it's long spindly legs dripping with crimson blood. It was lowering its mouth with the intent of killing the girl, but Steven and Daniel cried out and charged the damned creature. It didn't stand a chance and was quickly dead. While Daniel cut the body up to search for a special pouch which contained the only thing that came near to water that could only be gotten from said pouch from the demons here, Steven rushed over to Calista and knelt beside her. She was whimpering in pain and shaking. Her wound was quiet nasty looking at a glance. He took her hand and squeezed it gently, she opened her eyes slowly and looked at him with frightened sapphires.

"Steven" she whispered, her voice laced with pain, "It hurts!"

"I know, but you'll be alright."

"How? It's so dark I don't like the dark, its full of monsters." she whimpered as her eyes closed and she fell unconscious. Steven became panicked and shook her slightly trying to wake her up.

"Father!" he cried, sounding terrified. Daniel rushed over and knelt on the other side of the nine year old girl. He examined the wound and said

"Steven go get that water, we'll need it!" he gently scooped Calista up and carried her back into the cave.

The next few days were awful. Calista hung on the brink of life and death, Daniel was very worried and Steven was terrified of loosing her, death was one of the few things he truly feared. On the fifth day Steven was sitting beside her watching her, she was sweating and tossing feverishly.

"Calista, please, you have to wake up. I need you, more then I ever realised! You keep us together, you make us laugh, when we get hurt you take care of us. You are so much stronger then you think father and I both see that, so don't let it win, you have to fight, please." He leaned down and kissed her brow. At his touch she stilled and her breathing deepened. He took it as a good sign, although he just wished she would open her eyes and smile at him again.

_(End flashback)_

Calista had healed over the next week and was very quickly up and about again. Connor had made sure he always took notice of her, and what she did and appreciated everything about her. He still did, and he would do anything for her. Sighing and kissing her brow he left the room and headed downstairs to help out.

* * *

_**"Is it time?"**_

_**"Yes, send out the signal!"**_

_**"Alright, but I hope you know what you're doing."**_

_**"Will you relax, I do!"**_

_**"What ever you say."**_

* * *

Calista lay on the bed fast asleep when suddenly her eyes snapped open and she stared unseeing ahead.

* * *

Downstairs Connor was laughing and talking with the gang as they took a break when he suddenly stopped and his eyes became glazed and unseeing.

"Hey kid, you ok?" asked Gunn, Connor didn't answer he just turned and strode out of the room. Gunn caught Angel's eye and saw he look concerned as well. They followed the boy to the lobby where Calista met up with Connor the same expression on her face. She and Connor walked outside without acknowledging each other. Angel called their names but they ignored him and kept going.

"What was that?" asked Lorne

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about it." said Angel, he turned to Buffy, "We need the potentials now!" She nodded and ordered the potentials to grab their weapons as quick as possible. When everyone was loaded up they followed the two teens scent to catch up with them. Connor and Calista walked through the city under a now dark sky. The large group of fighters caught up with them as they walked onto the same beach where Angel had ended up in a box for three months. He wondered what the hell was going on. Connor and Calista walked across the sand to the edge of the water. They stopped there and extended their hands and the others watched in complete shock as the sea parted before them, revealing dry land. They followed as the two teens began to walk along the 'path'. It was in a slope and they watched in amazement as the water rose on either side of them as they walked out into the deeper water. They came to a stop when the water was about five metres above their heads.

The water before them was swirling like a whirlpool on its side. Connor reached out and touched the centre of it and it opened like a door to reveal a stair that descended even lower. Connor and Calista, who still hadn't snapped out of whatever they were in, began to go down them and the others, who were more then a little curious, followed. They went down and down and down, never seeming to end in a straight line deeper and deeper into the pacific. Wesley commented if they weren't being protected by some kind of magic, they mostly likely would have been crushed by pressure by now, which didn't help the already scared potentials. They finally, after what must have been several hours reached a sandy clean path just like the one before. They were stunned even more to see a tunnel like you'd find in an aquarium, only this was way longer! As Dawn, who'd been the last of them, hopped off the stair the same whirlpool covered the entrance to the stair, trapping them! Calista shook her head and blinked and Connor followed. They looked around in utter shock and voice the same question at once

"Where are we?" Spike stared at them his eyes wide, and his face slack. It would have been quiet funny but the next thing they knew he pounced on Connor and began shaking him viciously,

"You mean to tell us we followed you when you two went catatonic and led us here only to wake up with no idea where we are?" Angel moved to stop him but Calista was quicker. She grabbed Spike by his leather coat and tossed him away into the water 'wall'

"Hey we don't have a clue what's going on so don't give out to us, I only remember going to sleep!"

"And I only remember talking to Gunn!" added Connor rubbing his neck.

"Ok so we are at the bottom of the pacific and are now in a tunnel that doesn't appear to have an end. So what should we do?"

"How 'bout those two try getting the stairs back!" suggested Xander nodded to the two completely lost teens.

"How?"

"Well Connor touched the centre of the whirlpool so maybe if he did it again then maybe-"

"Ahh!" screeched Dawn leaping away staring in horror at the wall. Everyone went into defence stance, but there was nothing to fight.

"What was all that about?" asked Kennedy

"I-I s-saw a- a demon!" stuttered Dawn pointing at the water that was somehow being kept away.

"A demon?" asked Giles doubtfully

"Well it was ugly enough to be one!" said Dawn. Just then a faint light appeared in the water, then huge jagged teeth, and finally they could make out the ugliest, scariest bloody fish they'd ever seen. It watched them with big opaque, unblinking eyes. There was some kind of light attached to its body and it dangled in front of it between those disturbing eyes. It's teeth were as long as an upper arm and the body was as long as Angel's torso. They back up a bit, except Connor who stood right where he was. His face was passive as he stepped closer the fish watched him curiously. Connor stopped just before the 'wall' continuing to stare at the fish.

"Uh, Connor? What are you doing?" asked Angel slowly, Connor didn't answer, he just kept staring at the fish. Said fish seemingly was thinking, then suddenly it darted away along the wall, though they could still see it. When no one moved it turned and came back then went ahead again. No one understood what it was doing. It came back a third time and jerked its body it the direction down along the tunnel, Connor looked down along it and pointed that way in questioning. The fish nodded, or did its version of nodding then swam away again, slower this time and then stopped.

"I think it wants us to follow it." said Connor. Spike instantly said

"Oh no! No, I may have followed you down here but I am not following a bloody fish!"

"I can't believe we're following a bloody fish!" he exclaimed for what had to be the twentieth time. They were walking along the tunnel, Connor and Calista were at the front. Connor seemed to be the only one not worried, he was just curious about what was going on. The fish was beside them swimming lazily along watching them with one of it's opaque eyes. Calista clung to Connor's arm tightly, she was very unnerved, Connor looked at her and said

"Can't you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"Like this is all familiar to you?" she looked at him and said

"Yeah I can, but that's what scares me the most." They continued in silence. Suddenly Calista screeched and did a kind of double take. There, on the other side of the 'wall', was a BIG fish! Its eye was watching them and they could just make out the head, whew, it was bigger then Robin Wood, who was the tallest person there! Their guide fish swam up to it and snapped its teeth at it. The new one turned its attention to it and they started a staring contest. Connor sighed and folded his arms across his chest impatiently. They waited for many moments until, Anya, who was extremely impatient actually went and hit her hand on the 'wall'

"Hey you, guppy boy!" The first fish turned to her his eyes somehow looking annoyed at the name, "We, unlike you, don't have all day! So c'mon lets get moving, or swimming or what ever you guys do!" the fish regarded her and then, flicking its tail in the other fish's face continued leading them down the tunnel.

"Wesley how far out do you think we are?" asked Fred nervously.

"Well I think we may be about a fifth into the pacific. Give or take a mile or two."

"Wow!"

"Yes, wow."

"Hey do you see that!" exclaimed Connor, pointing ahead.

"See what?" asked Buffy

"That! At the end of the tunnel! It looks like a door of some kind!"

"Oh goody!" muttered Spike sarcastically. Suddenly Calista double over and groaned in pain. Instantly they crowded around her.

"What's wrong?" She looked at them and said irritably

"First of all, back off! Second the babies just started kicking like crazy and it hurts! Something's wrong, or something's right."

"What do you mean?" asked Giles

"Well when Daniel and I first arrived in this world was the first time they kicked! I think they knew where we were, then whenever Connor's near they start up as if they can feel him, and now they just started again when he pointed out whatever's down there."

"Can you walk?" she nodded

"Yeah they just took me by surprise."

"Ok I think we should just keep going see what happens." said Angel as Connor helped Calista straighten up. "Lets go!" They made their way to the door and slowly they could all see it and picked up the pace a bit. Their fish friend got excited and did circles around and swam up and down and all over, it was quiet creepy. They finally reached it and Robin whistled appreciatively. The door was huge and detailed, the wood was a kind they had never seen before and carved into it were symbols and pictures. But while it looked new and old at the same time, the pictures were hard to define. They looked at the fish, who had disappeared.

"I guess we have to go in here." said Willow nervously. Connor went up and pushed at it. It didn't move. Angel joined him and then Spike and Buffy and Gunn. They all pushed hard but it still refused to budge they stopped and back away looking at the door trying to find a key or something. Suddenly Molly, the British potential, said to Giles,

"Mr. Giles perhaps one of the symbols has to be touched for it to open."

"Y-yes! Good idea Molly, just which one?" asked Giles looking at the door for something that might be the right one.

"There, those two hand imprints, they'd probably be them." said Fred pointing.

"But one's bigger then the other so we need two people." Angel and Buffy stepped forward and placed their hands into the imprints or tried. Angel's hand was too big and Buffy's didn't fit right. Spike, who happened to be in a bad mood, grabbed Connor and Calista by the shoulders and said,

"I bet these two will work." They both shot angry looks at Spike, which he ignored and let go. They slowly placed their hands into the imprints and they fitted perfectly. But the door didn't move. Calista frowned then slowly reached out and touched Connor's shoulder, her hand trailed down his arm and took his hand. No sooner had she done so then the door opened slowly to reveal…

* * *

Think Finding Nemo for the fish.

Night's Darkness


	10. The realm of beginnings

Sorry this took so long but this chap is 40 pgs long so give me a break!

* * *

**Balance chp 10: The Realm of Beginnings **

"Not more bloody stairs!" groaned Spike, "The way back is going to be a long one!"

"If there is a trip back!" muttered Vi to Rona. Buffy shot them an annoyed look, but said nothing. Connor and Calista went first down the stairs. This was a tunnel of rock, lit by fire, casting eerie shadows around them.

"Are we heading down to hell?" wondered Sorcha her Irish lilt more obvious when she was scared.

"Maybe this is the main hell mouth!" suggested Amanda gulping and tightening her grip on her weapon.

"Well that fish was ugly enough to be from hell." murmured Buffy to herself.

"Have you never heard the saying look fairer, feel fouler?" asked Connor looking at her as he led the way down.

"I have! In Lord of the Rings, that's what Frodo says to Merry when Merry asks if Strider who's really Aragorn can be trusted!" piped Andrew eagerly, Connor gave him a strange look which made him nervous, "I guess you haven't seen it yet." he muttered uncomfortably. Angel couldn't help but smile in amusement, Connor definitely got that intimidating look from him. Connor rolled his eyes then continued to lead the way, his body in an almost animal like movement. He was a fox looking for prey in the dead of night, his eyes missed nothing, his ears detected any noise, his nose followed the scent of the prey, waiting for them to show themselves. They came out of the tunnel and into the last thing they expected.

"Bloody hell!" breathed Spike his eyes wide as they all stared in complete shock at what they saw. Giant trees towered above them, as big as redwoods. Stairs twisted around the trunks to houses in the trees, like children's tree houses, only they were much more intricate and impressive. There were a couple on the ground as well. The top was like a sky of brown stone and green leaves. But that wasn't the thing that had them so shocked, although it wasn't as if they expected to see a forest of trees two kilometres under the earths crust! No, it was the fact that the ground was littered with bodies! Brutally slaughter as if a massacre had taken place here in a place that seemed to be a kind of sanctuary. Some were obviously children and the rest looked like teenagers.

"Oh my god!" gasped Fred looking in shaking horror at the destruction. Dawn clutched Xander's arm and Anya held the other. Willow edged nearer to Kennedy.

"What happened here?" whispered Calista, shaking, Connor held her close.

"What is this place?" asked Wesley looking around, his watcher instincts making him insatiably curious.

"The realm where things began!"

"How do you know Connor?"

"Wes, that wasn't me!" said Connor his eyes wide as he looked around for the voice that sounded like his. Suddenly he froze and said quietly

"Um dad? Do I have a twin?" Angel frowned in utter confusion

"No why?" Connor just pointed behind him and Angel whirled around and like Connor froze. There leaning against a tree trunk, looking completely at ease was Connor! Or at least something that looked like him, except there were deliberate mistakes. The most noticeable one was his face had black lines all over it and the Scoobies were instantly reminded of when Willow was evil and she went all dark she had similar marks to the ones on this guy, another was his outfit, it looked like some thing out of Lord of the Rings, with out the weapons. Then the next thing you notice was his eyes, they were a dark blue almost navy and seemed otherworldly. But other then that he could have been Connor's twin!

"What the hell is going on?" asked Gunn as he looked from Connor to the new guy and back his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"Good question!" said the look alike, straightening and smiling warmly at them, "What is going on? What's this world coming to?" he paused as if thinking, "Hmm, certainly has changed, and not all for the better either."

"I told you the humans would abuse our gifts!" said another voice, and a Calista look alike appeared from behind another tree, except she looked like a wannabe Galadriel, with same styled hair and dress but her face was Calista's. Strange enough the outfit and hair looked good on her and she was obviously not pregnant. Connor and Calista stared in complete shock at them while they looked almost bored.

"Well I was hoping it wouldn't be this bad." sighed Connor's double

"Connacht, I know and we tried our best, but we only gave them chances, it was up to them how to take them." she said quietly.

"Excuse me but what the bloody hell is going on here?" yelled Spike. The two doubles looked at them as if remembering they were there.

"You're in the realm of beginnings." said Connacht as he was apparently called.

"Where thousands of happenings were decided millions of years before they occurred."

"And you are?"

"Them!" said Connacht pointing at Connor and Calista, who were looking more and more shocked each passing moment.

"Or are they us?" asked Calista's double, Connacht gave a half shrug,

"Good question."

"Are you two gonna answer us straight or am I gonna have to hurt you?" threatened Buffy stepping forward.

"Give me your best shot slayer!" said Connacht calmly stepping in front of her. Buffy hesitated then gave a strong swing for his head. Her arm passed right through him, and he was unfazed. Buffy tried a couple more times but still passed through him. "You know you can stop that now." he said sarcastically. Buffy back away a little

"Why can't I hit you? Are you The First?" For the first time the calm look disappeared and he looked completely insulted, he scoffed angrily and turned and paced away, there was much bitterness in his voice

"The First, the beginning of all evil, the plague of my kind, because of It we lost everything," he turned to them, "We lost our families, our children, because of It and Its manipulation!"

"Connacht calm down, they don't know, but they will, we will show them." said the girl. Suddenly Connor and Calista came up to them and they stared at each other. Finally Calista whispered

"Who are you?"

"We are you, you are us, whatever way you want to look at it. My name is Connacht and this is Calida, we were the ones who looked over this place."

"So you were in charge." clarified Connor

"Not so much, but we did keep things running, yes."

"Ok, now why do we look like you?"

"Because you are our reincarnations, more or less." They took a moment to process this information, then Connor asked

"What is this place?"

"This is our realm, it stretches across the world although only underneath it."

"What are you?"

"We are children of vampires!"

"Oh bloody hell, how many are there?" exclaimed Spike throwing his hands up. Connacht's eyes darkened angrily but he said nothing. Calida spoke instead

"We were alive during the demon ages, we were born of true vampires."

"I was the first to be born, Calida was second, after that many more were born, and we met and learned with each other and explored our powers. However it became obvious we were better then the demons, for we aren't demons ourselves, more powerful and stronger." said Connacht, Calida continued

"And for that they hated us, and tried to destroy us. They hunted us like animals, we had no place to go. Our numbers began to drop and we knew we had to find somewhere, so here was the one place the demons couldn't follow."

"It was small at first, little more then a hole in the ground really, but through time we managed to build this." Connacht indicated to the great forest.

"Impressive." complimented Wesley, Connacht nodded

"It is, the greatest realm ever created, one kind all unified by the desire to live."

"Wow!" said Willow.

"What happened to you if you were so great?" asked Xander tactlessly.

"Wait are you two dead?" asked Fred now quiet confused. Connor rolled his eyes and shot her an incredulous look. Connacht suddenly turned and walked away beckoning them. They followed through the mass of bodies each quiet uneasy. Connacht stopped and pointed at one body that was lying on its stomach and the face was hidden.

"Would you mind?" he asked pointing at the body. Connor shrugged and bent down and rolled over the body. The others couldn't see it but Connor let out a yell of fright and shock and jumped back, almost knocking Angel over. Lying there, was Connacht's body, his dark eyes open and staring at them, a dagger in his heart. Connor was breathing heavily and Angel realised that that must have been seriously unnerving for him considering the huge similarities.

"Creepy!" said Andrew bouncing on his feet nervously.

"Gee you think?" snapped Connor irritably, he then became serious again and asked quietly

"What happened here?" Connacht sighed and said

"We'll show you." and closed his eyes. They watched as the bodies disappeared and sounds of chatter and laughter. Slowly the area filled with people again, but they were alive and happy. Some children were chasing each other and giggling. The older people were lying on the grass talking or messing, some were even making out! There was life in everything around them, it could almost be felt in the air. "This is our domain at its prime." said Connacht nostalgically with a sad smile.

"You will see things as they happened." said Calida, "But you cannot interact with this, for they cannot see or hear us."

"Before we go on can I ask you something?"

"Of course!"

"How did you get those marks on your face?" asked Connor motioning to them. Connacht smiled again and traced one of them softly

"It was when I was in a fight with some demons, we had just managed to destroy what you would call an old one, and then a demonic spider jumped on my face and bit me. It turned into a joke after; I could destroy an old one and still be beaten by a small spider. Anyway the poison got through most of my system before they could remove it and stop it from killing me, and stained all my veins black. A little reminder to be a bit more careful on the surface."

"Why are all of the older ones only about eighteen or twenty?" asked Wesley curiously.

"When we reach a certain age, it's never the same with any two people, we just cease to age, you see we gain vampire immortality at that age, and our children inherit it from us."

"How old are you if you're the oldest two of your people?" asked Angel his eyes a bit wide

"I am, without counting the years I've spent dead, four thousand, two hundred and sixty three years old, and Calida is four thousand and two thousand and fifty eight years old." said Connacht patiently, "Now no more questions, it will all be explained if you watch this." They quickly kept quiet and started to watch.

* * *

Connacht was eating an apple lying on the grass staring up at the stone that was the sky. He was looking for the images in the crevices and bumps in the stone. Suddenly a shadow passed over him. He knew who it was and deliberately ignore them as they sat down. They sat in silence for many moments until finally they spoke

"You should be in bed Connacht." Connacht sighed and turned his head to look at his concerned friend Orlando.

"This is just as good my friend, besides I've been in bed for two weeks, if I had to stare at that room any longer I would have gone ballistic!"

"Calida was not pleased that you snuck out, need I remind you what happened the last time you went off after a serious injury that almost killed you?"

"Please do, my mind does not recall such a thing." he said in an annoying tone. Orlando sighed irritably and said

"You hid on the healers and then had a relapse and almost died again!"

"Ah yes now I remember, oh well if it happens again then that's just another notch in the belt!" Orlando rolled his eyes and then frowned

"What does another notch in the belt mean?" Connacht smiled in amusement and looked back up at the 'sky'

"It's a saying that will become well known in the new species world. It means that's just another one for the list."

"Oh! By the way, the council is demanding for a name for them, it's annoying to have to call them the new species!"

"Alright, alright! I'll come up with a name for them later on today, right now though all I plan to do is find out why that scluk is eating Washington!" said Connacht. Orlando took on a look of pure bewilderment and he looked up to try and see what he was seeing. Shaking his head he said

"I shall never see what you see in that 'sky' my friend. Well enjoy it while you can because once Calida finds you she will lock you in a cell for a month." Connacht snorted

"Yeah right, like she'd do that… again!" Orlando then stood up and wandered off. Connacht began to hum softly as he stared. He took a bite of his apple and hopped to his feet walking off. He nodded to people who greeted him and smiled, as he made his way up to his private room, no one would bother him there, even though he would have rather stayed outside. However this required for him to sneak past the healing wing. If he was caught he would have to probably stay in the wing instead of his own room and that was even worse because every healer would be watching him with sharp eyes. He was about to run past after making sure he had the all clear when he heard a familiar voice screaming protests coming from the opposite way. A twenty year old looking woman, India, was dragging a five year old boy, Wales, who was kicking and screaming. Calida, of all people, came out into the hall to see who was disturbing the peace and sighed tiredly as she saw the cause.

"Good day India, Wales, is it time for Wales check up already?" The way she said it showed she wished the time between was longer. Connacht turned to get away before Calida saw him but then India called out

"Oh Connacht! Perfect timing, can you come here and convince Wales that there's nothing to worry about?" Connacht cringed inwardly as he turned with an almost comical forced smile. He took in Calida's tight smile and angry eyes and India's sweet smile that told him she'd gotten him caught deliberately. Her son Wales was still trying to get away, but India had an iron grip.

"Sure!" he said with strained cheerfulness. He went over to the trio and crouched before Wales, who stopped struggling to snap to attention. "Wales what's wrong?" he asked calmly. First rule of child pacifying; give the child the chance to explain why their upset.

"I don't want to go to a check up, I always get a poky healer, I don't like being poked!" declared the small boy. Connacht could definitely sympathise with the child, he hated the healers even if his mate was one. He glared up at Calida who was smirking.

"You are loving this far too much!" he stated to her, which only made her smirk even more. He sighed and dropped his chin to his chest for a moment to brace himself for walking straight into a trap. "Wales, you have to go to the healers to make sure that everything's ok, and if you want to grow up big and strong and be able to fight then they have to check you. They do that by poking unfortunately but we all have to go through it, even the healers themselves." The boy looked extremely surprised by this fact, "It's true now the longer you fight the longer it'll take, so you may as well get it over with." Wales sighed and nodded. Connacht ruffled his hair good-naturedly and stood up. India smiled in thanks then went in. He looked at Calida who tapped her foot and smirked at him, waiting, "You're going to kill me, aren't you?" She nodded seriously, he nodded back, saying, "Right I figured." She grabbed him by the ear and dragged him in.

* * *

A few hours later Calida was satisfied he was well enough to be out and released him. He literally bolted out of the room, not caring if he was teased about it later. Orlando did tease and laughed at him but he could live with that. After Orlando had had his fun he became serious again.

"We have got to do something Connacht! We have lost five people for this new species, and they don't even know it!"

"Humans!"  
"I beg your pardon?"

"Humans, I thought about it and I decided they should be called humans!"

"That has got to be the most ridiculous name you've come up with yet!"

"Even more ridiculous then dinosaur?"

"Ten times more! And about that, I don't see how if they will call demons demons that they have to call them dinosaurs!"

"No you see my friend millions of years from now they will dig up the fossils-"

"The **_what_**!"

"The bones of the demons will be found and they will think that they were giant lizards that ruled the earth and then died out."

"And just how did they die out?" Orlando asked sarcastically

"Oh I never did that part, I just left it for them to figure out on their own!" said Connacht, going down a table full of food piling it up on his plate, passing stuff that wouldn't fit to Orlando to carry. The older looking man didn't notice, he was to busy trying to understand his friends reasoning!

"And the demons that survive to the time when they start to dig up these, fo-fosi-fosilies, these bones, will they be called dinosaurs too?" he spluttered, setting down the apple that Connacht just passed him.

"No! They won't be known about by the people who take up studying their ancestors, only a select few will know about them and they will fight them, although by then the line between black and white will be gone and it shall all be grey of different shades. Some demons will even fight for the light." If Orlando had been flustered before it was nothing to how bad he was now.

"Demons fighting for good?" he exclaimed, "I think your sanity's in question Connacht! I don't think Calida was thorough enough with her check up."

"You think too much Orlando." said Connacht with a smile of amusement to himself, his friend was so easy to wind up. Orlando growled and set down the fourth apple Connacht handed him, and continued to talk.

"Connacht, don't you care that we have lost five good people in the same amount of months? What if there are more? What then? Will you just sit back and do nothing?" Connacht stiffened and his eyes narrowed. Slowly he turned around to face Orlando, who realised too late he had played into dangerous territory.

"Don't ever question if I care about every single person here, you know I would bring back every one of them if I could even if the price was high!" he hissed, all smiling and joking gone, "It haunts me to know that they are gone, because I'm the one who told them to go do that fight, to go protect that race! But it's our job Orlando, the powers have commanded us to use our power to give them chance upon chance, gift upon gift, paths upon paths! I know it's hard but we have no other choice, the Powers could easily strip us of all our strength and power and then where would we be? As much as I hate it Orlando it's the lives of the many outweigh the lives of the few or the one, if I could change that I would but I can't without the Powers permission." Connacht sighed and rubbed his face tiredly while Orlando looked ashamed of accusing his friend wrongly, then Connacht exclaimed

"Where's my stuff I gave you to carry?" Orlando stared at him blankly and then growled irritably and said in a whinging tone

"You are impossible!"

"That's why you all love me so much!" smirked Connacht as he picked up a fifth apple and bit into it, wiping his chin with the heel of his hand as the juice ran down it. Orlando sighed and picked up a plate and began to pile on some meat and vegetables.

"How's Pacific?" asked Connacht, speaking of Orlando's mate, Pacific was one of the female warriors, a complete contrast to Orlando, but maybe that's what drew him to her.

"As stubborn as ever. She's not happy you won't let her go out on fights and patrols any more." Connacht sighed and shook his head.

"Well she's five months along, it's just too dangerous for her and the baby!"

"That's what I explained to her but she still wasn't happy."

"I don't care if she's unhappy, as long as she's safe! Keeping her happy is your job!" Connacht was lying there, he hated when people were unhappy, but he had to do the right thing first. Just then Greece came up to them.

"Hello you two!"

"Hi Greece!"

"Good evening!"

"Connacht we need another counsel meeting scheduled!"

"Why?"

"There have been many complaints from the warriors and their families about the new species. They wish for us to wean them off our protection and onto their own." Connacht sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"First day back after almost dying again, you'd think they'd give me a day to enjoy myself!"

"I'm sorry Con, but we need to get this done, Scotland and Italy are at each other's throats practically."

"What else is new?" asked Connacht sarcastically, "I don't care if they're fighting over the same girl they have to start working together for the counsel to stay together."

"By the way are you sure destroying that city was a good idea?"

"Yes, Mt. Vesuvius will cover that town completely and then in the future people will learn much of that time period and the culture in that part of the world, and can we please talk about this in counsel, I just want to eat!" he whinged like a child. He then walked away from them, but not quick enough to miss them saying

"I think something's going on, he's so unwilling to talk about anything."

"But maybe he just wants to not have to think about it for a day, like he said."

"Well we'll see…" Connacht sighed and sat down enjoying his meal a little less then he had hoped.

* * *

"Ok this meeting is now in order and its purpose is to 'wean' the humans off our protection and onto their own, no sniggering at the name!" he said all in one breath. The counsel was in a private room, with no windows and only a table and chairs. There were seven people, Calida, and six men, Connacht, Orlando, Scotland, Italy, Greece, and Germany.

"Well I think we should just stop leaving our realm, stop having anything to do with the world above, we have no ties to it any more, we have all we need here." said Scotland. Italy shot up and cried,

"You would have us abandon a species that has no defence or strength against the demons?"

"They should not be of our concern, we are losing people for them and even if they knew it they wouldn't care."

"You don't know that!" insisted Italy angrily. Scotland stood up,

"Yes I do, these beings kill each other over food and they will have at least one world war!"

"All in the name of progress."

"We make progress and we don't kill each other, or separate off into smaller factions! They do and will continue to do so!"

"They will have different views, different ways, it'll give them reason to share!"

"Or reason to kill!"

"Both of you sit down!" snapped Connacht, "And Scotland get over yourself! We will not abandon the humans just like that, we will give them a defence first then we will slowly back away and disappear. Now any suggestions on how we do that?" There was silence as they looked from one to the other as they thought of ways to protect the species.

"Well what will the humans biggest problem be once the demon age ends as it should very soon?" asked Germany, Connacht chuckled and said

"Vampires!"

"What!" spluttered Orlando, "That's not possible, vampires are at the bottom of the food chain!"

"Well it seems that the vampires that will exist after this present age, will be half breeds, not true vampires like our parents."

"Half breeds?" asked Scotland sitting up and leaning forward.

"Yes, you see, you know vampires aren't reproducing anymore, because, well they hate us, but they found a new way with the humans. They drain them of blood, then make the human drink their blood and that changes the human, turning them into a half vampire, they will have all the memories of their lives as humans but they will be soulless demons!"

"Soulless! But the very fact that vampires have souls is the reason-"

"The reason we exist and why we are on the side of light!" finished Connacht rubbing the bridge of his nose, "This in effect is their new way of reproducing, only, there are a couple of downsides, generally the new vampires are weaker then true vampires, and much easier to kill. Also since they are soulless they will be affected by Christian objects like, the cross, holy water, also fire and they will be burned to ashes if they are exposed to natural light so they in effect are creatures purely of the night while humans are of the day. Fitting in a sense isn't it."

"Wait!" said Greece leaning forward, "If I recall I was out on a defence attack for a large colony of humans and we had defeated the vampires that attacked. A man came up and he was strange, he felt cold and dead. He looked human but then his face… changed, it became like a vampire's and he lunged at us. Thankfully one of our warriors was quick to act and beheaded it."

"Well that's good but next time try to capture one of them so we can experiment!" said Scotland, his dark brown eyes shining with the idea of learning more.

"We'll do our best." said Greece, rolling his eyes once Scotland looked away.

"Back to the matter at hand, how will we defend the humans?"

"Well, didn't the powers say they would choose their own champions?"

"Yes but they will come and go, we need to create something that will always be there!"

"How about some magical defence, like a shield that takes effect when demons are near?" suggested Italy

"That won't work, even if we could do that for the humans that exist right now, there's no way to pass it on to their offspring, the effect would only be temporary and, knowing how short a human lifespan is, a waste of time." said Scotland derisively, his eyes narrowing at the dark haired boy who looked seventeen, but was the same age as him even though he appeared to be twenty five. Italy opened his mouth to retort but caught the murderous look on Connacht's face and clammed up. There was silence for a moment, something that was becoming too common these days. Each knew something was up, but none of them knew what, except that they were being affected, which lead to a cold feeling between everyone. Most tried to ignore it, but the council couldn't.

"Well how about a warrior, a chosen one?" suggested Germany

"I like that, the chosen one." said Orlando, rolling the last three words in his mouth.

"We could have one human and he could have the strength of the average true vampire. We can make it so he can sense a vampire and destroy it."

"But how will they know what they are? Who will train them?" asked Scotland

"What about a society of people who watch over them? They could collect information and then send the warrior out to do the work. They would train them and teach them." said Calida, looking around.

"I like that." said Connacht nodding, "Anything else?"

"What about the name of this warrior? And Connacht, if you come up with some insane, weird name then so help me I will hurt you!" said Orlando looking at him sternly. Connacht mimed locking his mouth and throwing away the key.

"The great defender." suggested Greece

"That sounds like something from a- yeow!" yelped Connacht, glaring at Calida who had kicked him sharply.

"The human saviour!" said Germany, who was trying and failing to hide his amusement.

"Technically that name was taken by Jesus." Connacht said.

"Who?"

"I'll tell you later."

"The Vampire Slayer." murmured Calida softly, her eyes gaining a far away look.

"I like it." said Orlando. There were words and sounds of agreement. "Vampire Slayer it is!"

"Anything else?"

"One more thing." said Calida, "The warrior will be female." There was silence for a long time as the men stared at her in shock, then all at once they spoke

"No way!"

"You can't-"

"-Human woman are treated as good for nothing but breeding and cooking!"

"They'd never be good fighters!"

"Are you all quite finished?" she asked as they quieted.

"Um I am!" said Connacht, raising his hand. Calida shot him a 'not funny' look.

"The warrior will be female for the reasons you have just spoken, if a vampire has a choice of a woman or a man to kill which would it choose?"

"The woman of course."

"Why?"

"Because they're weaker! No offence."

"Exactly and none taken. But what if that woman instead of screaming and crying actually fights the demon and kills it, no one will believe her, and that's what we want, this warrior isn't fighting for glory, it can't because it's too dangerous-"

"And because most human women are weaker in strength, there's no suspicion." finished Connacht smiling as he understood.

"Exactly." nodded Calida

"Has anyone still got a problem with that?" they shook their heads and then Scotland said

"Well if they're going to be female I think we should make it so that they can't have children." Several things happened at once in the next few seconds, Connacht covered his face with his hands, Italy ducked under the table and Calida shot up and slapped Scotland across the face. The sound of her hand hitting his face echoed through the room, making all of them flinch.

"How dare you!" she screeched, "You think you have the right to take away a woman's right to have a child, something that the female of every species has in common! You have no right to even think of taking that away just because the woman will be a warrior, if the warrior was male would you cut off his manhood so he couldn't produce children? No, you're only saying it because the warrior will be a woman, you're no better then the humans if you think a woman can't be a warrior and a mother!" Connacht stood up and grabbed her hand as she raised it again to hit Scotland.

"Ok, ok, easy, easy! Now calm down Calida, we won't do that but I'm sure, or at least hoping, that Scotland had a very good reason for suggesting that, now sit down." Slowly she obeyed, but still glared daggers at Scotland who now had a split lip. Italy poked his head up over the edge of the table and asked

"Is it safe?"

"Uh, yes, I think it is." said Orlando uncertainly. Italy sat in his chair, the corners of his mouth twitching as he looked at Scotland. Connacht sighed and asked

"Is that everything?" they looked at each other and nodded, "Ok then, uh, lets finish this up, paper please!" At once a scroll appeared on the centre of the table and Connacht grabbed it. He opened it to read what had been written and nodded

"Well everything's here, so… who's the unlucky one?" Nobody moved for a moment then slowly and reluctantly Calida raised her hand.

"Me." she said grudgingly. None of them could blame her for being reluctant, she was the one who would have to lead the ritual and give the sacrifices of blood, bone and flesh.

"Well lets get it over with!" said Connacht.

* * *

"I hate that ritual, I hate that ritual, I hate that ritual!" was Calida's only words for hours afterwards. The ritual itself wasn't complicated, but whoever was leading it would have to step into the circle made by the six others and place their hands, while holding the scroll with everything written on it, into a special pool of lava. Not exactly pleasant! Calida was used to it as were the rest of the council members, but that didn't stop them from hating the damn thing. Connacht sat beside her as she had her hands and arms bandaged. Finally she was done and she fell back onto the bed.

"Did you get that feeling from the Powers?"

"Like a sadness or sympathetic feeling?"

"Yeah, it was strange, I've never felt that from them before."

"Hmm!" was all Connacht said.

"Well, hopefully things will be alright now, we won't lose any more people."

"Hopefully."

* * *

_(A few years later)_

"Everybody inside, now!" yelled Connacht as the entrances to their safe heaven closed and disappeared, sealing them in, and the demons out. This was the tenth time in four years that they had attacked all the doorways at once. The children of vampires had lost more then thirty people, including Orlando. Connacht and Calida ran up to the top of the tallest tree where their command central was. Calida went over to a window and after a few seconds of gazing through it she said,

"Everyone's present and accounted for!" Connacht nodded and jumped as there was a great bang, the demons were trying to break their way in. He swallowed nervously as Scotland's voice spoke from an unseen place.

"Connacht you'd better send Calida down to the healing wing, Wales was hit in the first wave!" They shared horrified looks and Calida rushed out leaving Connacht on his own to think. Something was seriously wrong, had been since they created the Vampire Slayers. There had been no more beginnings for the humans, no council meetings. To top it off, there was something wrong with their defences, before all this started the demons wouldn't have had a hope in getting this close but now they were very close to breaking in.

"You look a mess Connacht! When was the last time you slept?" Connacht whirled around at the familiar teasing voice, to see Orlando standing there looking at him with concern. He relaxed and took on a bored look.

"Oh it's you!" The First narrowed its eyes at him.

"Feeling tired Connacht? Ready to give up?"

"No not really." said Connacht in that same bored tone.

"Are you still in denial?" it sneered.

"About what?"

"About how your kind is going to be destroyed!"

"Not going to happen!" Connacht sat down behind the table, slouching in his seat and crossed his arm. There was another deafening bang and both looked in the direction it came from.

"Your magic is failing." It smirked

"Come again."

"Oh, come on Connacht stop with the dumb act we both know better then that, a couple of years ago the demons wouldn't have been able to even come within a hundred yards of the entrances to the realm of things begun, yet now they're only a knock away from coming on in."

"Maybe that's what I want, to let them think that they have a chance of beating us and then sending them off to hell."

"If that were true then you wouldn't have told me."

"Why not, it's not like your telling them what to do, because they're way too smart to need help from a… whatever you are."

"You know what I am, I am The First Evil, the cause of all evil, and of course I'm helping them, without me, those demons wouldn't know their back from their front!" snarled The First angrily before it could stop itself. Connacht smirked at it, while it glared at him, furious that it had let him get the best of it again! He was the only creature to have ever gotten under its non-existent skin. Deliberately calming down it said coolly

"So, what if I am helping the demons, does that make a difference, are you still going to hide in fear, like little insects that run and hide in little cracks every time the ground shakes a little." Connacht dropped the casual act and stood up, leaning over the table, his hands resting on the smooth wood. His eyes were cold as ice and intense like a fire, his face a picture of angry determination. It took all of The First's willpower not to show fear; the look was severely intimidating. He spoke quietly but his voice was like a deadly arrow that struck its target.

"You're talking about us feeling fear when the only reason that you're helping the demons is because you know we have the power to destroy you."

"Had the power, but you're losing it, I doubt you could even launch an attack at me with out putting your little safe haven in danger."

"We have enough power to destroy you ten times over!"

"Then why don't you try to." It hissed, leaning closer. Connacht didn't say anything for a minute, then said.

"I bet you'd just love that, attacking you when you expect it, so all your defences would be up, and you had that little friend from the higher plain giving you extra juice, you may be stupid, but I'm not!" The First shrugged saying

"Whether it's now, or in ten years when you've lost everything you won't be able to destroy The First!" Connacht straightened up and gave it a mock salute and then walked around the table and straight through the illusion and out the door saying,

"If I don't, someone will, no evil is invincible." The First smirked, and said to itself thinking he couldn't hear it,

"Neither is good!" Connacht stopped and said over his shoulder

"At least we acknowledge it."

* * *

Connacht walked into the healing wing, recoiling at the feeling in the room. Death! Going to the only occupied bed in the large beautiful room, he sighed sadly at the sight. Wales was pale as snow and he was clearly in a lot of pain from the horrid stab wound in his stomach. India was crying silently, Calida gently stroking the boys' forehead. Wales opened his eyes and looked at Connacht who smiled sadly, and squeezed his shoulder gently.

"I killed one Connacht!" he rasped out, the pride evident in his voice that was getting weaker as his life slipped away. Connacht grinned

"Nice, was it massive?"

"Humongous!" grinned the small boy.

"I'll bet you had no trouble killing it!"

"It scratched me but I killed it anyway."

"Well done Wales, you'll get a great prize for it."

"Really? What?"

"Whatever you want."

"Anything?"

"Anything kid." promised Connacht swallowing hard to keep from crying.

"I want a huge cake, with cream and strawberries and blackberries, raspberries, oranges…"

"What, no apples?" teased Connacht. The little nose wrinkled in distaste then he smiled

"I hate apples, my favourite fruit is…" they never knew what it was because the last of his life slipped away. India buried her face into Connacht's chest and sobbed. Calida sighed deeply and gently closed his eyes, then looked at Connacht with tear filled eyes. Connacht's own eyes were dry, his mind running over everything that had been happening. He came to one realisation.

They needed answers!

* * *

_(A few days later)_

Again the demons had given up and left a little while after Wales had died. Connacht had a funny feeling that they knew that someone had died and he knew well who told them.

The First!

That thing was starting to really bug him, he'd been bantering with It from the beginning, It kept coming back. He sat alone at a square table, with three spare chairs, his crossed arms resting on the table, his chin resting on his arms, not looking at anything in particular, brooding. Presently Calida came over; he noted dully that she was wearing that blue dress he liked on her, with the matching accessories. She stood before him and asked

"Are these seats taken?" he looked up at her and said as dully as his mood was,

"Can't you see I'm in an important session with Gloom," he pointed to the chair on his right, "Sadness," the left chair, "and Despair?" the one opposite him, "Good crowd, I've been hanging out with them a lot lately, but I guess you haven't noticed since you and your girlie friends have been wrapped up in… girlie things." She gave a half smile and said

"Can I join you, I'd really like to meet your friends here?" she smiled at each of the chairs as if there was really someone there. Connacht shrugged but his head didn't lift. Looking around she grabbed a free chair from another table. She put it opposite him and sat down, copying his posture.

"So what's the discussion in the group, are they telling you about this total bitch called Happiness, I've met her and I don't know why anyone would want anything to do with her, or her groupies, Cheerfulness, Perky, Smiley… complete bitches!"

"Yeah they were just giving out about how they're just annoying and completely bitchy." said Connacht, "Hey would you mind grabbing a chair for Worry and Fear, they're always running late."

"We may need a bigger table." She stood up and retrieved two more chairs and placed them side by side on the left of the chair on his left.

"Can you move that one to the other side, Fear and Worry don't get along." She rolled her eyes and said to the chair on her right,

"Despair, could you move down a chair please so Fear can have mine? Thanks." She moved to the chair beside her own.

"Oh here they come! Now the gang's all here!" said Connacht with mock cheerfulness.

"You forgot Jealousy." she pointed out.

"He's with Italy and Scotland, always is, I can't believe you never noticed." She sighed and straightened up.

"Well… have fun!"

"With these guys? Always do!" Calida nodded, and left.

* * *

"How was he?" asked Italy as Calida entered the room they had been waiting for her in. She made a noise between a groan and a sob, and sat with her face in her hands,

"He playing emotions can talk again!" The four men all groaned,

"That bad?" asked Greece. Calida nodded,

"Oh remember the last time he did that was when… when Orlando died." A heavy silence hung in the air.

"Well he really cared about Wales." sighed Calida, Germany stood up and went to a cupboard and pulled out a large bottle of wine. He poured it into five glasses and passed them around.

"There's something I will probably never understand." said Greece, swirling the drink in his glass, staring into it thoughtfully, "You and Connacht both adore children, and yet you never tried for your own. Why?" Calida shrugged and said

"We just never found the best time."

"What's that rhyme the children say? Liar, liar, pants on fire?" smirked Scotland quietly from where he sat on the ledge his feet on the table. Calida smiled softly shaking her head,

"I'll never forgive Connacht for teaching it to them." They chuckled then fell into thoughtful silence. Presently Calida said

"Do you remember about, ohhhh, a thousand years or so ago? We were performing the ritual for something for the humans, I forget what it was, something to do with the 4th of July 1716, or something like that."

"Oh yeah at the end you collapsed or something, right?" said Italy his brow scrunching in thought.

"No, she just sat on the ground, said 'Oh!' and started crying." said Germany

"Thanks for the recap!" she muttered, "Do you remember what it was that made me sick?"

"Not really some bug I think the healer said, and we agreed that was it as you'd been sick a lot, not eating, throwing up in the morning…" Germany trailed off, his mouth hanging open slightly as the realisation dawned on him and the others. Calida smiled sadly and nodded

"Miscarriage. I had a weird feeling when I found out I was so I didn't want to tell anyone except the healer and Connacht, I didn't want to tell him but he deserved to know. You should have seen his face, he was delighted… then we lost the baby."

"Did you not want to risk it again?" asked Greece

"At first yes," she sniffed as unshed tears formed in her eyes, "But a couple of years later… I found out that the miscarriage had caused a problem, I can never have children."

"That's when you and Connacht locked yourself in your room for a month, isn't it?" said Italy, she nodded,

"We just needed to just have time to think and support each other. Besides even if I could still have children we wouldn't have one now."

"Why not?" asked Scotland quietly, although they knew he, like themselves, knew why.

"Because something's happening to us, it's like a cloth is covering us, suffocating us, killing us slowly."

"So you noticed that too." Scotland sighed and looked over his shoulder as singing struck up, it was evening, Connacht had dimmed the lights so there was a blue darkness everywhere. This time of day was when people would dance and sing. Suddenly he frowned and said

"Where is Connacht?"

"At that table there." said Calida coming over and pointing only to frown as she saw the table was devoid of life. For some reason she had a funny feeling about this, like something was seriously wrong.

"Where is he?" asked Italy looking over Scotland's shoulder.

"He's gone."

"Wait there he is!" said Scotland pointing. Connacht was hurrying up the stairs that wound around a tree. He hesitated and looked up at them, then turned and ran upstairs.

"There's only one place he could be going to up that tree!" said Calida closing her eyes and resting her forehead on the cool stone of the building they were in.

"He's going to contact the Powers!" murmured Italy, his eyes huge.

"We have to stop him!" turning Greece raced out followed by Calida and the others. They ran as fast as they could but knew they wouldn't be quick enough. Calida was the quickest of them and crashed right into the door of the room where Connacht contacted the Powers That Be. It was locked!

"Connacht! Connacht, open the door, don't do this you never know what's going to happen to you…"

* * *

Connacht ignored Calida and his friends hammering on the door and sat on the ground cross-legged. Closing his eyes he concentrated and cleared his mind. This ritual wasn't so much as bringing the Powers down here, rather they met in a middle point. The whole thing was physically, emotionally and mentally draining, if you weren't strong enough this could kill you. Connacht had done this more then once and by now was able to do it with great ease. He quickly slipped into the coma-like state and passed through many levels of existence, finally stopping in a kind of heaven; little spheres of light, ranging in colours, floated around, the ground was like clouds, if clouds were firm and smooth. Before him stood four people, regal and proud, a black man and black woman and white man and white woman, each handsome in their own way. Connacht straightened to his full height, chin raised defiantly.

"What brings you Connacht!" boomed the black man.

"You know damn well!" said Connacht barely keeping a lid on his fury, "A little boy lost his life because of the demons getting too close, something is happening to our magic, we're getting vulnerable, why?"

"What makes you believe we have anything to do with it?" said the white woman, in her quiet voice. Connacht rolled his eyes,

"Please, The First has no chance of doing this, no one does, unless you guys let it. So what's going on? Why are you suddenly doing this?"

"Suddenly? We do nothing suddenly." declared the black woman. Connacht frowned as he thought, then threw his hands up in disgust as realisation hit him,

"This has been going on for years, even before we created the Vampire Slayers, hasn't it?" None of them spoke so he knew he was right. "What you doing?" he cried angrily, "Are you trying to tell me something, because if you are you'll get no cooperation from me, not until you stop killing my people!"

"You have already done so." said the white man, and Connacht froze in shock.

"That's why we, you, you were killing those warriors because you, you wanted us to create the Vampire Slayer! What? Was the normal sacrifice not good enough for you?"

"We knew that if you lost people you would give the humans their own defence to spare your people. That was the final beginning you were to create for them after that you had fulfilled your duties and have become of no further use to us." It took Connacht a few moments to process their words and went he did he was furious.

"What's that suppose to mean?" he demanded

"It means that your kind are of no more use to us or the world, so you will come to an end." said the black man

"In three days, as the sun rises, you will all be stripped of your strength and power and will be done away with." Connacht stepped back, his eyes wide and he shook his head,

"You're going to let us get massacred by the demons aren't you?"

"The boy is sharp." smiled the black woman, but it was a nasty smile.

"Don't you even care, that there are four hundred and twenty five people down there?"

"Four hundred and twenty four, you counted the boy."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" roared Connacht, "YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US ALL! YOU CAN'T DO THAT! WE DID EVERYTHING YOU TOLD US TO DO, HOW CAN YOU JUST DECIDE TO DO THIS?"

"We are the Powers that Be!"

"THAT'S NOT AN ARGUMENT!"

"Three days, I suggest you use this time wisely."

"Wait! You can't just-"

"That will be all." Connacht was forced to return to his body before he could say another word. He fell back and panted both in fury and in exhaustion. Shakily he got to his feet, the banging on the door was making him angrier. Without thinking he flung his hand out at it and a burst of raw powerful magic flew at it hitting it with such a force that the door exploded.

Calida jumped back as the door gave a loud bang. Once the dust had clear she saw Connacht, looking terrified and furious, standing there. She rushed in and hugged him tightly, saying,

"Oh Connacht, I was so worried, are you ok? You shouldn't have done that, you scared us so bad." Connacht said nothing only held onto her tightly. She noticed he was shaking and that her shoulder was getting wet with tears.

"Uh, mind if I ask what the door did?" asked Italy uncomfortably.

"Nothing except make a racket!" muttered Connacht, his voice muffled. Finally he let go and wiped his tears away.

"We need to talk." He spoke quietly and hopelessly.

* * *

"How can they do this to us?" sobbed Calida into Connacht's chest,

"After everything we did for them, for the humans, they just decided we don't have a reason to live?" Italy stated more then asked.

"Why!" rasped Scotland, his voice hoarse with anger.

"Because we're too strong." said Connacht suddenly.

"Come again?"

"Think about it, we are the most powerful beings on this plane right?"

"Used to be!"

"Still are, but what if… what if it's bigger then that? We all know the only reason the Powers are so 'great' is because they are on a higher plane of existence. I bet if we were on the same level as them we'd be more powerful then them!" Calida looked up at him as she started to understand what he was getting at.

"They're scared of us." she whispered, her ice like eyes wide, Connacht shook his head

"No it's more, they took advantage of our power to make the humans the dominant species, got us to do their dirty work, but they were planning all along that once we had done everything they would have to get rid of us to spare their own hides, the cowards!"

"Why?"

"Because they believe eventually we will replace them, we have the power to do so, but because they're higher up they call the shots!"

"Those bastards, don't they know, we only want to be left alone, to live our lives as fully as possible without the worry of demons or anything else?"

"If they do they don't care, they can't rest easy with such a dangerous rival around." said Connacht sarcastically. They sat in silence for a while, then Germany murmured

"What about the others?"

"We can't tell them!" exclaimed Connacht, "The children, I won't let their last few days be lived with the knowledge that they and their families will be slaughtered."

"Well we can't not tell them. They deserve to know, they need to know the truth or they'll die thinking we, you failed them."

"Didn't I?" whispered Connacht. Calida brought her head to be level to his and said

"No! You did everything you could and more to protect them and keep them happy, they deserve to know you did everything you could to save them." Connacht refused to meet her eyes, the guilt having buried so deep in his heart already, eating at him, if it kept up it's pace it would kill him before the massacre. Cupping his face in her hands she made him look at her,

"Connacht, you've kept us alive for thousands of years, kept us going. It was you who gave us the strength to fight back in the beginning, to find a home of our own. We would never have survived without you, please Connacht don't blame yourself, it's not your fault." Connacht gave a small nod but still didn't speak. Knowing that was the best she would get at the moment she sighed and stood up.

"We should tell them now, so that they have as much time as we can give them. I want you to call everyone and have them gather in the usual area, we will tell them when they are all together."

"They'll panic." stated Scotland, almost distantly.

"Then we'll just have to keep them calm won't we." said Italy.

* * *

Of course, there was panic and it took Calida sending out a simple spell of calm to stop them from running around.

"Sit down everyone!" she said gentle but commanding. They did as she said, albeit reluctantly. Connacht had yet to say anything, he just sat on a root of a tree staring at the ground. The others were speaking,

"We know this is hard, if not impossible to believe or accept but we're afraid there's nothing we can do."

"Then you haven't tried hard enough!" shouted Texas, leaping to his feet. Many others shouted out similar things. The five council people tried to regain order. Alaska, a pretty little girl with dark hair and eyes, no more then seven went over to Connacht who hadn't moved yet. She tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. He looked at her with sad eyes she swallowed and said

"Connacht is it true? Is there no hope for us?" Connacht said nothing for a long time only staring at her intensely, his brow slightly furrowed in thought. The others had managed to restore calm when a voice was heard, singing gently but as they listened it grew in strength and determination.

_It's been a long road, getting from there to here._

_It's been a long time, but my time is finally here._

_And I will see my dreams come alive at last,_

_I will touch the sky_

_And they're not gonna hold me down no more,_

_No their not gonna change my mind._

_Cause I've got faith of the heart_

_I'm going where my heart will take me_

_I've got faith to believe_

_I can do anything_

_I've got strength of the soul_

_No ones gonna bend or break me_

_I can reach any star_

_I've got faith_

_I've got faith_

_Faith of the heart…_

They looked at Connacht who, instead of looking defeated and small, looked strong and powerful, his eyes burning with a heartening intensity. He stood up and walked slowly looking at each of them hard, as if studying them. Most straightened up meeting his gaze with determination. Connacht nodded and smiled slightly, saying,

"Is there no hope?" he sighed pensively crossing his arms across his chest. "We can't stop the massacre from happening… but if the Powers think we'll just let them do this without a fight then they haven't been paying much attention to us." Connacht was starting to get that smile on his face, the one he often had on when he'd pulled a very good prank on hard to get people.

"What are we going to do?" asked Russia curiously, biting his lip.

"We're going to make it so this world will never forget us." smiled Connacht, "I want each of you to think of something that you feel makes us so unique, it can be anything as long as it means something to you." They all thought hard, some even closed their eyes tightly. After a few moments Connacht went over to a woman called China and asked her without saying a word what she had thought of.

"That we have names and are individuals that all work together to make this world better." He nodded and then moved to a man, his name was Morocco. He narrowed his eyes in thought and said

"We have artistic skills." Next was a small boy, Liechtenstein. He grinned cheekily and said

"We have great treats!"

"Hey that was mine." chuckled Connacht as several people smiled and laughed. Next was Austria, a twelve year old girl.

"We've got you Connacht, and your as unique as possible. No one could ever be like you."

"Thankfully." muttered Italy, loud enough for all to hear. Connacht bent down, picked up a small stone and threw it over his shoulder without even looking.

"Ow!" exclaimed Italy, clapping a hand to his forehead where the stone had struck with perfect accuracy. There was laughter all around. Connacht smiled and said

"I want each of you to concentrate on the thing you've chosen, and we are going to pour ourselves into this world, into its very core. As time goes on we will be remembered without anyone but the Powers knowing it. And there isn't a thing they can to stop it!" Shouts of approval were heard all around and people clapped and stamped their feet. They followed Connacht's instruction and stood in a circle holding hands with the people on either side. Connacht stood between Calida and Italy and took their hands. He closed his eyes and began to chant softly. The chant was a word, a colour, an emotion all at once. Slowly others began to pick it up and then as one they began to walk in a circle, clockwise. They chanted louder and louder their minds focused on one thing, moving faster and faster, the energy they were creating getting stronger. It was building up, their very life force powering it. Suddenly they all stopped and they flung their hands up in the air, the power they had created flying out of them into the world. Those they had lost added their power, their very spirits to it. They all fell back feeling awed at their own power. Connacht was the only one who remained standing. He grinned and said

"Now that was fun!" Calida just shook her head as she stood up. He put his arm around her waist and said to them, "You have two days, use them wisely. Do the things you've always wanted to do, right any wrongs, make peace with each other. On the third day come back here before the sun rises on the surface. We will fall together, as a unit." There was no cheering and no clapping, there was just understanding. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Italy going over to Scotland and holding out his hand, Scotland eyed his hand then looked up, a debating look on his face, then with a smile he shook it.

"Wow, miracles can happen." smiled Calida

* * *

_(Sunrise of the third day)_

Everyone had gathered again, sitting on the ground families clutching each other. The children were shaking in their parents arms, and looking all around as if their end was going to appear out of no where. Connacht and Calida were holding each other tightly, Calida shaking badly.

BANG!

Everyone jumped as the noise echoed around the realm.

BANG!

Another one, the doors that sealed the entrances groaned under the strain.

**BANG**

**BANG  
**  
**_CRASH! _**

The doors gave way. Creatures poured into the realm, vampires, humans, demons all gathered to destroy them. The children of vampires didn't move to fight, didn't cry out in fear or pain as they were slaughtered, they refused to give them the satisfaction. A few minutes later and they were all dead… their lives torn away because of jealousy and hatred.

* * *

Ok just let me say that this was completely my own creation, if you wish to borrow it for your own story please send me a review or e-mail. Also the song Connacht sings belongs to Star Trek: Enterprise, a great song and very inspiring. Also the names I used like Orlando and Calida were places around the world which is how they are remembered but please note none of the personalities reflect on my opinion of the country, in case anyone was offended. There is a meaning behind Connacht though, can anyone guess what?

Night's Darkness


	11. Trouble in NotParadise

I know it took a while but I'm almost finished the whole story, well, I think I am... keep making things more and more complicated till my brain hurts... anywho on with the story:-)

* * *

**Balance chp 11: Trouble in NotParadise**

No one spoke… none knew what to say. Connor was pale and he was holding Calista tightly as if afraid to let her go. Calista had her arms wrapped around her tummy protectively and she was shaking. Connacht looked at them and said softly

"I know this is a lot but you need to understand why you've got The First and the higher being after you."

"It's because we have the power to destroy them." said Connor quietly.

"No!" said Calida, they looked at her in confusion, "It's not that you've got the power to destroy them just like that, while we four are of the same species it's different. Only when we were at our prime with so many of us could we destroy them and they knew that. The higher being was a Power that corrupted the others to destroy us. Calista is the one who has the power to destroy either The First or the higher being that has infected your friend but not both. You have to choose before the children are born or else all is lost." They were silent as they looked at Calista who looked very small and scared. They suddenly heard Xander whisper

"We already knew that, if these guys have nothing else then this was just a mood downing waste of time." Connacht looked furious and he hissed

"I can't believe I ever defended your small minded, self absorbed kind! You humans will never learn." He threw his hand out at them and there was a flash of light.

* * *

They found themselves outside the hotel. Connor whirled around at them and snapped

"Great! Well done Xander!" He looked so angry with him Xander scurried back and hid behind Buffy who for the first time was not eager to defend her friend. Calista didn't try to calm him down, then again she was furious as well, she was shaking and her fists were clenched so tight she was in danger of drawing blood. She was glaring at them all, silent for now but the anger they could see in her eyes was like a bomb set to go off and they couldn't run away from it. The Potentials decided wordlessly to rush into the hotel as if it would be safer inside. They had not been inside two minutes when there was a scream from Dawn, which brought Buffy, Spike, Willow and Xander running while the rest followed a little slower having a hard time of breaking Connor's gaze. He and Calista followed last and almost reluctantly.

* * *

When Buffy entered she saw three things, one, Skip was dead, two, one of the potentials was dead, her throat had been slit and finally the guy responsible was standing beside her body. He was a handsome enough young man wearing a preachers outfit, and a bloody dagger in his hands. He smirked at her and said in a southern accent

"Come into my parlour said the spider to the fly." He threw the dagger straight at her with surprising strength. She would never get out of the way in time, when suddenly a blonde and black form leapt in front of her and the dagger hit them instead.

"Spike!" cried Dawn in concern as she rushed over to him. Spike groaned in pain as she pulled out the dagger. Buffy jumped to action and attacked the man. She aimed a roundhouse kick at his head but he caught her foot and with a quick movement Buffy was twirled like a baton and landed in a painful heap on the ground. The man picked her up by the throat and threw her away right over the reception desk.

"Buffy!" she heard Angel call as he ran at the man and punched him in the face. Giles was telling the potentials to move upstairs and leave this to them. Connor jumped at the man and kicked him in the stomach ignoring Calista's shout of "Don't!" As Buffy picked herself up she saw Connor get flung through the window of Wesley's office. She then saw Calista was left wide open as she watched Connor. The man smirked and said

"Well, well, if it isn't the dirtiest whore of all!" and leapt for her. Connor shouted for her to move as he struggled to regain his feet. Buffy rushed forward as Calista tried to run for it. He was almost upon her when she did an incredible leap up into the air and somersaulted backwards, to land awkwardly on her feet. She was in no condition to be doing such things. Connor rushed over to her and made her stand behind him.

"Connor-"

"Just stay back Calista!"

"Connor listen to me!" she shouted angrily, "He's dangerous and you are no match for him! Believe me I know! He almost killed me, the only reason I'm still here is because I ran for it." Connor looked at her in shock as Wesley pulled out a gun and shot the young man in the shoulder. He laughed and taunted them saying

"You cannot stop me! I am Caleb servant of The First Evil, it gives me its strength, its power, I shall destroy all you dirty whores!"

"Oh save it for the cliché evil guy convention!" said Buffy grabbing a sword from the floor where one of the potentials had dropped it. She ran him through the stomach but he still didn't die! Connor moved in once again ignoring Calista's pleas. He pounced on the guys' back and drew his dagger across his neck. Caleb grabbed him and flung him over his shoulder to knock the wind out of him as he hit the ground. He took Connor's dagger and went for a killing stab. Gunn took a swipe with his axe and hit Caleb in the chest. Caleb gasped and Connor managed to roll away to safety. Gunn drew back his axe expecting Caleb to fall down dead. But instead the man raised his head his eyes going black as The First's power grew within him.

"You can't stop The First Evil! It will spread it's darkness around the world and you will tremble before it's almighty-" he got no further as Calista grabbed Gunn's axe and with a swift motion chopped off his head. There was a ringing silence for a few minutes as they let the adrenaline levels go down. Then they started to clear up the mess. Fred got a brush and dust pan and began to sweep up the glass that was on the ground, while Angel, Wes and Gunn hauled Skip's body down to the basement to take it apart before they got rid of it. Buffy and Willow took care of the dead potential and Xander and Spike who was ok now got rid of Caleb's body and head. Dawn went and calmed down the frightened potentials with Faith. Connor went over to Calista who had thrown the axe down and now stood with a hand on her hip and her eyes on the ground as she caught her breath. He put his hand on her shoulder and whispered

"You ok?" she glared at him and pushed his hand away.

"Yeah except I'm disappointed with you. I don't even know why, not like I shouldn't have expected it!" Connor was confused

"What are you talking about?" She pressed her lips together, Connor knew with a nervous feeling that she only did that when she was seriously angry at him. She pushed her hair out of her face and then hissed through clenched teeth.

"What am I talking about? I'm talking about how you never think! How you always have to fight! I told you, I asked you not to fight him, and you did it anyway! You didn't stop to think about how strong he must have been to just send Buffy flying like that, hell, I doubt you even cared, as long as it was a fight you'd be all for it, I mean it's the only thing you ever think of!" Connor stared at her like she had just slapped him across the face. He couldn't believe it, she'd never said anything like this to him, didn't she know him better then that? But Calista wasn't done, "And of course he would've beaten you and you, if you'd lived, would've expected me to come and make it all better, to be strong for you!"

"Because that's who you are!" said Connor heatedly, "You're a strong person!"

"I can't be strong all the time though, but you never see that do you?" snarled Calista, not even bothering to keep her voice down

"And you never see that I don't always want to fight!"

"Pfft! Yeah right, like I'll believe that!" she scoffed. Connor flinched like she'd dealt him a physical blow, "Oh don't bother with that!" she scorned angrily. Angel tried to cut in between their words

"Look I'm not sure what this is about but-"

"Shut up!" they shouted simultaneously before facing off again.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that you wouldn't jump at the chance to get into another fight?"

"Yes because its true, I don't want to always have to fight, in fact I'd give anything to never have to fight again, but for some reason someone decided that I'll never get that break!" yelled Connor furiously.

"Yeah right, fighting's always come first with you, in Qour-Toth I accepted it because if you didn't then we'd probably never have survived, but I was always hoping that once we got out of there and you killed Angelus, you'd stop!" Lorne stepped between them and said nervously

"Ok I know the both of you are angry at, well, everything, but I think if we just sit down and-" They pushed him away so hard he landed on his backside. Fred rushed over and asked if he was ok, "Oh yeah I'm fine but my kiester'll be bruised come morning!"

"You always said that I had it easy in Qour-Toth, but nothing could have been further from the truth!" shouted Calista

"Yeah right you got to stay out of the fighting!"

"Demon fighting! Maybe. But I got stuck with keeping the peace in our family! If I hadn't then you and Daniel would've killed each other!" As they were arguing Lorne was frantically herding the others out of the lobby with the explanation that if they wanted to survive this storm they had better run for shelter now! Connor and Calista didn't even notice,

"You were the only one of us not affected by the dimension! That's why me and Daniel were always arguing!"

"Well did you ever think maybe it did affect me but I was able to fight it off because I had to? That I had to keep everything I wanted to say to myself so there was some peace between us? Of course it didn't, why would it you were so wrapped up in yourself you didn't care about how I really felt, or what I thought, or anything did you! Did you!"

"Of course I did, how could I not, I love you!" yelled Connor

"There's a difference between love and care!" Calista screamed, "You can love a person but not care about how they're feeling because you're so wrapped up in yourself that you can't see that they're hurting! Damnit Steven!" Connor looked at her in surprise at the use of his original name, the name of the Destroyer. Calista pressed the heel of her hand into the middle of her forehead, she sniffed hard, clearly keeping back the tears, "You thought it was so easy for me to stay in the caves, worrying if I'd ever see you again, with nothing to do. You thought it was so easy for me to clean your wounds and make you feel better after Daniel beat you. Do you have any idea how hard it was to watch him do those things to you and not be able to stop it?"

"You give out to me about being left behind! But you have no idea what it was like having to go out and kill all those demons, to see the light of life go out in their eyes!" snarled Connor, "It may have been hard for you to watch what he did but I went through it, not you, I was the one he beat for no reason!" He briefly thought that the others could probably hear them but he didn't care. Calista looked at him with a sad face, but the fire in her eyes was burning bright. She rubbed her face again and said quietly

"You can't deny that you never asked me if I was ok, unless I'd been injured or until I got pregnant, you never once asked if I was feeling ok after Daniel beat you, after I took care of you and made you smile again." Connor opened his mouth to deny it but froze as he realised she was right, he honestly couldn't remember a single time when he'd asked her if she was alright, unless she'd been injured recently or until they'd found out she was pregnant. She looked at him with sad eyes, the fire was dying. "You don't realise how lucky you are, you come here and even though you were alone when you performed the ritual for Daniel, you had people around you to take care of you, and I didn't, I lost everything in one day, you and Daniel, all alone in a world that was so different, so big and cold, with two beautiful babies growing inside me, who deserved the best, and I couldn't give them anything because I was meaningless to everyone who saw me!" she sat down on the step, her back to the glass doors. She put her face in her hands for a second then lifted her head and rested her chin in them. Her voice kept breaking as she continued "I've been… trying, to not be angry, to stay calm and cool, kept telling myself, can't get worse, but it has." she looked at him, "You, you have a family here Steven, they love you, they support you, I don't have that, I never had, Daniel was your father, the people here are your family, me, I don't have anyone like that, I don't have anyone who'll hold me and let me cry my eyes out." Connor moved to say something but she cut him off, "You can't now Steven, you had your chance, but you failed to see it." Connor looked at the ground, the guilt evident in his eyes. "And now I feel like the bad person." His head shot up again as she stood up and began to pace, some of the anger and fire returning. "I feel bad because you're upset, because I sound so selfish for saying that I want someone to hold me, because I want someone to take my hand and lead me through this instead me having to lead alone." She began to sob, quietly, "But the worst part of it is, is that I hate you for the simple fact that you don't have to carry these babies, you can get away if you need to, but I can't because they're a part of me." Connor looked at her his eyes wide in shock,

"What are you saying?" he whispered, fearing the answer. Calista sobbed even harder, sat down on the step again and brought her knees up to her chest as much as she could, and said

"I'm saying, I… I d-don't want t-them! I don't want these babies. Oh god! I love them so much, but I d-don't want them, I c-can't take it anymore, I just can't!" she couldn't speak anymore as she sobbed, her tears rolling down her cheeks. Connor looked at her and saw her, the real her, the frightened, tired, small teenage girl who was dying inside. He was shaken badly by this, she had always looked like an angel, strong and proud, but sweet and soft. Now he just saw the girl who was so alone, so scared, and it broke his heart. He wanted to go and hold her, but he knew she wouldn't let him, he had been too late for her, he couldn't save her.

He'd lost her!

He fell back as his legs gave way and his back hit the side of the reception desk. He slid down it slowly, shaken to the core.

_**He'd lost her!

* * *

**_

Sniff, sniff oh I feel like a big meanie! Will they make up? Who will Calista fight? Read and review and you'll see!

Night's Darkness


	12. Vote Love!

I'm (once again) so sorry for taking so long, but fear not, I'm almost finished writing this story... I think...

* * *

**Balance chp 12: Vote Love!**

"It's so quiet in there!" murmured Fred nervously twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

"My weather forecast tells me it's raining, sweetheart." sighed Lorne, massaging his temples.

"Calista's crying." muttered Angel from where he and Spike were standing by the door.

"No bloody shit, peaches!" grumbled Spike, taking a long drag on his cigarette, and exhaling slowly. Angel glared at him then the frown dropped and his sad expression returned. He was too upset to even get angry at Spike of all people.

"You know," started Willow hesitantly, "I never really liked the Powers, b-but I never really thought they'd, y'know do what they did."

"I know, all those children, they were so afraid but they didn't run, they met the attack head on." said Fred shakily as she remembered.

"Ok I'm probably the person who knows the least about the Powers That Don't Know How to Be Nice, but even I thought they were the good guys, they may be annoying, like Anya, but still, always acting for the greater good." said Xander.

"You wanna talk annoying?" snarled Anya, "You are the most annoying human to ever walk the earth, I can't believe I would ever want to marry you, let alone be upset that you left me at the alter, which by the way I'm still angry about!"

"Stop!" snapped Buffy, as Xander opened his mouth to respond, "We have enough to worry about without turning on each other."

"She's right, we have to get along, including you two." said Wesley looking at Angel and Spike who glared at him and said simultaneously

"We are getting along!"

"I'm sure." he responded dryly.

"A-a-anyway g-getting back t-to the matter, now correct me if I'm wrong but the Powers That Be are supposed to keep the balance a-and yet they allowed an entire civilisation to collapse, and they were on the side of light, they created the slayers, gave us the lives we lead in a sense." Giles paused as he took off his glasses and began to clean them, he slipped them back on his nose and continued, "Connacht mentioned something about them being corrupted by one of their own but that doesn't make any sense, they're the bloody Powers that Be!" he was clearly getting frustrated.

"It doesn't make any sense, unless…" Angel suddenly lifted his head his eyes wide.

"Unless what? Angel?" Buffy stood up and touched his forearm. She saw Spike stiffen as she did. Angel looked at her and said

"Do you remember that Connacht said, that they would have been more powerful the Powers if they'd been on the same plain of existence as them, but because they were on our level, a lower level, then they couldn't stop the Powers."

"So?" asked Anya

"So, maybe the Powers aren't these all powerful beings they've made themselves out to be, maybe they're just like us, like the children of vampires, they can be hurt, they can be corrupted, they can die from injury. But because they're so high up, no one can reach them and they control everything they do, but they have desires, they have wants and they are good and evil." There was a ringing silence, if Angel was right, then this changed everything. Gunn frowned and stood up and said,

"Look, I say we forget about the Powers, we make our own choices, we don't answer to them, we fight the good fight because we want to, not because they make us, I honestly don't care what the Powers That Be really are, alls I know is, I'm a brother who wants to save a good friend, and help protect Calista and the kids from this evil!" Fred smiled gently at him and said

"You've been practising that haven't you?" Gunn gave a half smile and said

"Maybe a little, doesn't make a difference, I meant what I said." He stuck his chin out proudly. Molly stood up and said

"I think your right, we have to keep going, it's an honour to be part of a creation of the Children of Vampires. We should act as such."

"Yeah, we can beat these guys, we just need to have the guts." said Kennedy from where she sat with Willow.

"But first we need to get Connor and Calista to make up." said Angel

"Oh no!" exclaimed Lorne standing up, "Look I'm all for love, hey if it were in an election I'd vote for it, but this is something we can't interfere in."

"But we can't just let them argue during an apocalypse, even I can feel the bad vibes in there!" said Fred frowning.

"Look Freddykins, we really can't get in this, we'd just make things worse, they need to see the other one as more then just one thing. Connor needs to see Calista as more then the person who will keep him going, but as someone he needs to take care of. Calista needs to understand the Connor doesn't always want a fight, that he just wants to stop but that he doesn't seem to be able to, whether because of someone else or because of something inside him, he's being forced to always fight. They grew up being forced into their places, warrior and carer, because of where they were and who they were with, stereotyping each other without realising it." Angel closed his eyes as he tried to keep his head together, it was easy to get angry at what had and what was happening to them but he need to stay cool. "Angelcakes, we keep seeing something that's not real with them, they've built thick walls of protection to hide behind, but in reality, they are just frightened kids, whether they acknowledge it or not." Spike growled and punched the wall angrily,

"This isn't fair!" he yelled, "They've had enough, why can't they just be left the hell alone?"

"Because they're special!" said Angel softly.

"Is that what you tell them?" sneered Spike, "Because if it is, no wonder junior and you don't get along!"

"Yeah well who asked you, momma's boy!" snapped Angel

"Oh no, you are not turning this into an argument between us, you have got to face the facts!" said Spike sternly, pointing his index finger at him accusingly. "You think that if you sugar coat things, give everything a positive spin it'll make things easier for them, but lets face it _Liam_! You can't do that to them of all people, they were thrown into the deep end and are still trying to swim to shore. You can't just say to them that they're special, because they won't listen to that, because they don't want it, they don't want to be special, they want to be normal! You need to give them straight answers for once, not the drivel about being a champion or any other hero crap that pops into that over sized, ego inflamed head of yours!"

"What do you know, _William_?" spat Angel angrily.

"Apparently a hell of a lot more about your son then you do!"

"Stop it, stop it right now!" cried Dawn angrily, both vampires looked at her in surprise. "You two are so selfish, arguing with each other when we're in the middle of an apocalypse, we need to work together and your acting like two children!" Dawn glared at them although she was as surprised as the rest at her of all people scolding two of the best warriors. Both glared at each other then backed down, Lorne went to the door and rested his head against it for a moment. He looked at them.

"I think it's safe, but brace yourselves, it may not be easy." He opened the door and walked out slowly, Angel and the others right behind him.

The lobby was empty at first glance, then they saw Connor sitting on the bench out in the garden and they saw the back of Calista as she walked upstairs. As they entered the lobby there was a bad feeling in the air, it was thick and made their skin crawl. Lorne went a funny shade of green.

"Oh that's one humdinger of a vibe." he groaned as he teetered on his feet. Connor looked at him through the glass doors with concern. He stood up and walked inside,

"What's the matter with you Lorne?" he asked looking at the demon curiously. Lorne gave him a strained cheerful smile and said

"Oh don't you worry your little head over uncle Lorne, I just need some REM!" Connor nodded, then he turned and went back outside. His head leaned back, to look at the stars. Lorne sighed sadly, he looked at Angel,

"The guilt is coming off him in waves, that's why he asked." Angel had a parental urge to go outside and talk to him but what could he say? It'll be alright? How the hell could he just say that, he couldn't back it up! Still he had to try. He moved to talk to him but Lorne grabbed him by the arm and shook his head,

"Let him think." He reluctantly sighed and nodded. Wesley sighed softly, then said

"We should all try to rest a bit, we need to keep our strength up as much as possible."

"Ok."

"Yeah, your right."

"Good night everyone."

"'Night." One by one they left for their beds, Buffy gave Angel's hand a squeeze and then ascended the stairs, the prickling of the hairs on her neck telling her Spike was following her. She ignored it until she reached her room, leaving the door open so he knew he could enter. He stopped just before the threshold and said

"You know what I feel. But I don't know how you feel, and with Captain Forehead around I can't help but wonder…"

"If I'm choosing him over you." finished Buffy sitting on the end of the bed facing him. She stared for a moment then said "I'm not sure, it's hard, I mean Angel was the first guy I ever loved, but at the moment I have no idea where we stand, and to be honest I'm not sure where we stand either." Spike bowed his head slightly with a sigh,

"You know slayer, there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you, hell I went and got myself a soul for you, and Angel, well he left you, can't be with you because of his soul, had a kid without telling you, and in case you haven't noticed there seems to be more then friendship between him and Cordelia." Buffy tensed at those words, in truth she had noticed a strange wistful and yearning look in Angel's eyes when ever he spoke of Cordelia. Spike saw he had hit the nail on the head, so he pressed his advantage,

"I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to Buffy, but I won't let him hurt you because he's moved on and you can't yet." Buffy looked at him her eyes soft and understanding.

"Thank you Spike." she whispered. Spike nodded then said

"Night luv." And walked away to his own room which he shared with Andrew because Buffy had asked him to 'puppy sit' as she called it. She wasn't far off the truth, Andrew was definitely as eager and annoying as a pup, the only difference was that he didn't piss everywhere, although there had been a few close calls.

* * *

Buffy sighed as she lay on her bed, covering herself with the blanket. She thought about what Spike had said, and wondered if he was right. She need to know, she needed to find out if Angel was in love with Cordelia, or was he still hers at the end of the day…

* * *

"Wesley wait!" Wesley stopped and turned to see Gunn jogging up to him. "Listen you know that fight we had."

"My mind only faintly does although that might be because you gave me a slight concussion." he said dryly smiling slightly to take the sting out of his words. Gunn rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly and said awkwardly

"Yeah well I wanted to say… sorry." Wesley started slightly in surprise, Charles Gunn was apologising? The British man resisted the urge to pinch himself.

"Well, it really was my fault, I shouldn't have kissed Fred, and after all she is your-"

"Ex-girlfriend." finished Gunn for him. Wesley looked at him surprise, "We ended it a couple days ago, agreed it wasn't working, promised to stay friends and that was that, clean cut."

"Was it?" Wes asked doubtfully.

"Yeah really it was, I felt better for it, me and Fred, we're better of as friends."

"Well then… good for you." Wes wasn't sure what else he could say. Gunn chuckled lightly as he saw through Wesley's words.

"Hey look I know that you really love her so why not go for it? Now that she's a free woman before someone else sweeps her up. Oh and to add to the necessary boilerplate, you ever hurt her, I'm gonna kill ya like a chicken!" Wes nodded

"Acceptable terms."

They shook hands and bid each other good night.

* * *

Faith sighed as she sat down on her bed then thumped the bed in frustration. She stood up and began to pace feeling itchy in a way that she couldn't scratch. Suddenly she turned and hurried out the door intent on making the punch bag understand her feelings, when she crashed right into Robin Wood. The principal put his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

"Whoa, Faith you ok?"

"Yeah, just feelin' the pressure, was thinking o' working it out on the punch bag." She smiled at him, she'd been grateful for his comfort after The First had made it's appearance the night she'd arrived, just before Calista appeared, but she hadn't talked to him really since.

"Oh really, mind if I tag along? She shook her head,

"Not at all." she said, Robin smiled and then said,

"Looks like we're in a quite a rut now with those two teens fighting."

"Hey, they'll get back together. Have a little faith."

"I think I've had more then my fair share thanks." He smirked.

"Well, I trundled right into that one, didn't I? Look, I'm sorry if it seemed like I was blowing you off the other day. I was just trying to, you know, blow you off."

"Yeah, you know what, I figured that one out all by myself."

"Its nothing personal, it's just, I mean we had fun right? And I think both of us needed it but, uh, don't make anything of it." Robin didn't look fazed

"That's fine! Oh, and, uh, for the record, our little encounter didn't exactly change my world." Faith was surprised

"You're tripping! That was rock 'em, sock 'em!"

"No, no, no, no. It was—it was—it was nice enough, you know, and you're—you're very, um... mm, enthused, and I think with a little more experience—"

"Dude, I got mad skills!" exclaimed Faith, insulted

"Yeah, of course. C'mon lets getting punchin'."

"No, hell with that. We're going again, baby. You're gonna learn a little respect here, pal." Faith grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. He didn't resist. No man could. For Faith, this was a much better way of relieving tension.

* * *

Calista had been wandering about the hotel for hours now, the very idea of sleep was ridiculous to her. She eventually found herself in the attic of the Hyperion. There were, what must have been a hundred boxes, all covered in dust. Curious and desperate for a distraction, she opened the closest one to see what it held. It was full of books, poetry, mystery, and fiction books. Calista saw several titles she'd heard some other pregnant girls talking about, that they were reading for collage or high school. She'd kept to herself then, afraid and humiliated because she was so different from them, they had grown up with normal parents, had normal friends, normal lives, and what was she, a freak that's what! Feeling the anger that was always so close to the surface welling up again she closed the box and went to the window to look out at the stars. There were no stars or moon or sun in Qour-Toth, and she had always found them a comfort, often singing the song Daniel had taught her and Steven,

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star_

_How I wonder what you are_

_Up above the world so high_

_Like a diamond in the sky_

_Twinkle, twinkle little star_

_How I wonder what you are._

She liked the song, so sweet and soft. It was like the lullaby Daniel had sung to send them to sleep, if he was in a good mood and they had behaved

_Sleep my child and peace attend thee,  
All through the night  
Guardian angels God will send thee,  
All through the night  
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,  
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping  
I my loved ones' watch am keeping,  
All through the night_

_Angels watching, e'er around thee,  
All through the night  
Midnight slumber close surround thee,  
All through the night  
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,  
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping  
I my loved ones' watch am keeping,  
All through the night_

She always liked that song, it made her feel safe and for a time she could forget, forget Steven's screams of pain and words of pleading, forget the shouts of Daniel as he struck out at her friend while she cowered in the corner, wide-eyed and horrified as Steven's blood painted the floor and walls. She wanted to stop him but she didn't dare, Daniel was doing what was best, beating Steven would help destroy the demon in him, that's what he'd said. Daniel would stop and go and lie on his blankets and go to sleep, his back to them, and she would rush over to Steven and tend to his wounds, whisper words of comfort to him and keep her tears back, act strong to calm him. He would cling to her like she was a lifeline, and she would rock him to sleep, but not a tear escaped her. She still had not cried those tears twelve years later or any of the tears she had wanted to cry in that place. She'd built a dam, and now she couldn't break it.

"_Sleep my love and peace attend thee, all through the night."_ Calista looked around as a familiar voice sang softly, _"Guardian angels will lend thee, all through the night."_ Daniel Holtz appeared before her, grim faced. She stared at him in shock then realised it wasn't really him.

"Hello Calista." he said. She nodded, resting a hand on top of her belly. "What no words for the man who raised you?"

"You're not Daniel." she whispered, "You're The First." He chuckled and nodded

"Always was a sharp little thing, unlike Steven, who can be as dense as a boulder." She said nothing only stared passively at him. He became very serious, "You and Steven went against my orders!"

"And what orders were that?" she asked softly.

"I shouldn't have to remind you of my words when I found out you were pregnant." She closed her eyes as she remembered, and when she opened them again he said "You have not been acting accordingly either, you'd better start to or so help me I shall find some way of making you!" She raised her eyebrows and said

"What can you do, and why are you still pretending to be Daniel when I know your not?"

"Because this is a message from Daniel Holtz and you'd do well to remember it!" And with that he was gone. She sighed and rubbed her face tiredly. She doubted The First could really do anything to her for not obeying Daniel's wishes but still it was hard to ignore them. Her shoulders shook as she remembered what had happened. She'd been lying when she said that Daniel had been happy when he found out, in fact he'd been furious, especially because he'd caught them kissing and had forbid them to continue such things months before. When he'd found out she was pregnant he'd slapped Calista across the face and called her a whore and when Steven had tried to defend her Daniel had thrown them out. Once he'd more or less calmed down and taken them back in, Daniel had said

"Since there is no way to undo this, you shall marry if and when we return to the real world and you shall act accordingly now." That had meant little to Steven but for Calista it meant that she basically became Steven's property, something she'd been horrified about. Steven hadn't liked it either, he hated the thought of Calista being treated like an object, but neither of them could object especially since they didn't want to anger Daniel further. It was so humiliating for her, she had to agree to everything Steven said, do what he told her and more. Steven had tried to avoid it but if he didn't do it at all then Daniel would have seen what they were up to. There was a dull kick from the babies, they weren't happy, she could sense it. Then again she supposed hearing your mother didn't want you was very upsetting. She hadn't meant it the way it sounded, she meant that she wished that she and Ste-Connor were having them when they were older, more mature and used to this world and she wished she wasn't so bloody depended on in this apocalypse. She just wanted some normalcy, was that so much to ask for?

Two kicks. That meant no, she smiled softly, running her hands along the home of her children. They'd forgiven her for her words and they under stood her pain. Two more kicks and one punch. She knew that one, they were saying sorry for all the trouble.

"Did you ask for this?" she murmured aloud. Two kicks. No. "Then there's no need to apologise." Two punches and two kicks. Thank you. She smiled even more, but the smile faded away as she thought of Connor, she hated that they were fighting, she loved him so much and just want them to be happy together, with their babies. Would nothing ever go right for them? Tears of agony and anger began to fall down her cheeks, her fist connected with the wall. Why was the world against them? They just wanted peace and rest! The pain in her hand felt good, so she punched the brick wall again, and again. Her pent up frustration was building up and releasing with each punch, her vision was blurring from the tears in her eyes, her breathing quickened as she kept punching, kept hurting, kept crying.

* * *

Aww, I hope this makes up for the amount of time. :-)

Night's Darkness


	13. Coming to a head

**Balance chp 13: Coming to a head**

Connor sighed and stood up his head still tilted back to see the stars, the children's rhyme running through his head. He walked slowly, almost dragging his feet across the ground. The lobby was empty, as he made his way upstairs he guessed everyone was asleep given the stifling silence that was all around him. He went into his room, half expecting, half hoping Calista would be there, but to his disappointment she wasn't there. He knew he wouldn't get a wink of sleep until he talked to her so he went back out to the corridor and picked up Calista's freshest scent. Following it he was lead up to the top of the hotel, to the attic. As he got closer to the door, he could hear a strange pounding sound and Calista's tear filled, distressed, heavy breathing. He quickened his pace and hurried into the room. He stopped short when he saw her. She was crying, and her hand was bleeding, staining the wall crimson, a hole appearing in it that was getting bigger with each punch. Connor walked over to her and gently grabbed her upper arm and turned her to him. She began to hit his chest, her shoulders heaving with each sob as she got more and more upset. Connor slowly pulled her closer, ignoring that she still struggled, until he had his arms wrapped around her and she broke down in his arms. She buried her face in his chest and bawled like a child, desperate for comfort. He stroked the back of her head, smoothing her silky hair that was tied back as usual, but didn't say a word, didn't tell her to stop and that it would be alright, because he didn't know if it would be, and he wouldn't lie to her.

"Connor, please make it stop!" she whimpered through her tears, "Please make this go away, let us be left alone."

"I wish I could, Calista, I really wish I could." he whispered, resting his chin on the top of her head. She continued to cry, thoroughly soaking Connor's shirt, but he paid it no mind. Eventually she started to calm down, her sobs reducing to hiccups. Connor looked down at her and gently wiped her tears away. She held his hand as he finished, reaching up and touching his chest, where her tears had soaked his shirt.

"Your shirt's all wet!" she said in a small voice.

"It'll dry." he said pushing back some of her hair out of her face. He studied her face, the face he'd always known but only really saw now, her eyes were red rimmed and full of pain, full of sadness, their light was being engulfed, her face was pale and haunted looking. She had let her mask fall away, showed him the truth. He saw how frightened she was and how vulnerable. He wrapped his arms around her protectively and pulled her against him, wordlessly telling her he understood. She clung to him digging her fingers slightly into his shoulders. He whispered in her ear,

"I'm sorry." She shifted slightly in his grasp then relaxed into him more,

"I know." She pulled away and looked into his eyes running her fingertips down the side of his face. He took her hand in his and looked at it. It was bloody, the abuse it had endured had taken its toll on her skin, but it would heal, physical wounds always did. But it was a lot harder to heal emotional wounds. But he knew she would, she was too stubborn to back down. He touched the wounds and then looked her in the eyes, wondering if she really saw what he felt for her, if his eyes were showing her how much he loved her. She loved his eyes, always had, just like he loved her hair. She told him she could spend a lifetime searching his eyes, and she'd never see enough in them. He loved to stroke her hair, soft and silky, sometimes spending hours just running his fingers through it relishing the softness among such hardship. He remembered the argument they'd had after Daniel had kicked them out. They'd found a cave to stay in, and Calista had been a mess, in hysterics over it all.

_(Flashback)_

"Oh Lord, oh help, Steven what have we done?" she cried pacing around, "We're so bad, so evil, we've committed sins to condemn us for sure!"

"How can creating life be a sin?" asked Steven logically

"It's the manner in which it was created that is the sin! We aren't meant to do those things unless we are married in the eyes of God!"

"And how do you know he doesn't see it that way?"

"He cannot see anything at all in hell, it is not his domain!" she screeched, "Oh what'll we do? Daniel is now all alone with no one to watch over him, he's too old to defend himself! And we don't know anything about raising a child!" She wrung her hands and ran them through her hair. Steven came over and hugged her tightly.

"It'll be alright, we're not far from him, if he gets in trouble, I'll know, so relax." On an impulse he pressed his hand to her lower stomach. She pulled away looking frightened. But he tried again more insistently and this time she didn't pull away. He smiled, not feeling anything, but knowing that it was there, their little baby. Calista clearly couldn't understand it. Steven figured it must be very incomprehensible to have a person within her, growing and being nurtured by her body. Her face was full of fear, confusion and uncertainty. "Soon we'll have a child, someone to symbolise our feelings. It'll have your hair, and your smile." She smiled at the thought.

"And your eyes."

"My eyes?" Steven shook his head; he didn't like that idea at all.

"Well I don't want the baby to have my hair, and why not your eyes?"

"Because my eyes have seen too much, I don't want our baby to be like that!"

"Well I do! I want to look at our baby's eyes and see the beauty in them, see another world!"

"Well I want to hold the child and feel your hair on its head in my hand. It's a soft pure thing, rare in hell."

"Well if you want my hair then I get the eyes!" she smirked her own eyes dancing in delight. Steven groaned but then gave in.

"Alright our baby will have my eyes and your hair." The words were no sooner leaving his lips before Calista's touched them hungrily. The comfort from them was something he took eagerly and without hesitation, which upon later thought was the cause of their miracle.

_(End flashback)_

Calista leaned closer and gently pressed her lips to his. This woke Connor up faster then anything else ever could. He pulled her closer deepening the kiss gently, relishing her sweet taste, which was slightly salty from her tears. She suddenly tightened her grip hungrily, pushing him back against the wall. He pulled away to look at her with wide eyes, she smiled

"What?"

"Since when were you so aggressive?"

"Well what did you expect, my hormones are all over the place." She kissed him again, turning them around so she was pressed against the wall. Connor held her close, his hand reaching up and touching her hair. It was soft between his fingers, silky and smooth. Calista pulled away slightly and whispered

"You love my hair." Connor chuckled and said

"Of course I do." She looked up at him and said

"I feel better then I've ever felt, like I can breath easy again."

"That's because you've let it all out. You have let it 'all' out, right?" she rolled her eyes and smiled exasperatedly

"Yes I have!"

"Good, you have no idea how scary angry-you can be."

"Connor!"

* * *

Angel was in the lobby having been unable to sleep, rubbing his eyes with one hand he nuked some blood and drank hungrily, he hadn't had any blood since yesterday morning. He then pulled out his sketchpad and looked at the pictures, mostly focusing on the ones of Cordelia. Her sweet smile made his stomach flip-flop, just like Buffy's warm emerald eyes did to him… God he was so confused! Buffy was his first love and he would always love her, but Cordy… Cordy had been there for so much, they'd been through so much together. She'd become part demon so she could keep helping him fight the good fight, helped him take care of Connor when he was a baby… Cordy had always been there, right from the beginning, even when she had been a stuck up cheerleader. But Buffy… Buffy was his soul mate, his blood mate, he couldn't disregard that.

"Oh, Angel, what are you still doing up?" Angel looked up and saw Fred walking over to him dressed in cute teddy bear pyjamas, her bare feet making no sound on the floor.

"Couldn't sleep, you?"

"Same, I mean, everything's so messed up. Poor Cordy's possessed by some horrible evil thing and Connor and Calista are fighting, and then there's The First Evil, the root of all evil, I mean my God how can we defeat true evil, I mean its something we can't even touch."

"We'll find a way, we always do, but first we need to find out how to unlock Calista's powers to save Cordy."

"I just, I feel so useless I mean you and Connor and Buffy and the potentials are all so strong and able to fight, Willow's one of the most powerful witches of the world, Wesley and Giles have all that knowledge of magic and mystics, even Lorne has a way of helping by his ability to read people, and me, I'm just plain old human Fred who isn't brave like Anya or Charles or Xander, I'm just a girl who's into physics."

"Fred everyone means something in this group, even you, you represent what we're fighting for; average people with extraordinary potential, like you. The fact that your just Fred is why you're so important to the team. Don't doubt yourself." Fred smiled softly in thanks,

"I think I can sleep now." She turned around and began to head back to her bed then something stopped her. "Angel." she turned around, "Just a thought, but if this thing somehow did manipulate us into being here, then d'ya think maybe its influenced our feelings? Like maybe we feel a certain way about someone because it needed that to happen." Angel stared at her his eyes going wide as he thought that over, "You know what, never mind, I bet I'm wrong anyway, good night Angel."

"Night Fred, sweet dreams." Angel said distractedly. Could it be? Were the feelings he felt for Cordy really just part of that things manipulation? It made sense, it picked Cordy to inhabit and made him think he was in love with her so he would be more reluctant to doing anything to the evil because it might harm Cordy.

'I love Buffy!' he realised with joy, he knew Buffy was his one true love. He did love Cordy, and she would always be special to him, but in the end it always came back to his Buffy. He sighed with relief as almost a huge weight lifted from his chest and he could breath easy again, figuratively speaking of course.

* * *

Cordelia paced the room, wincing slightly as the creature inside her moved. She was near the end but she still needed a sacrifice and for the past few days she'd tried everything, the helpless pregnant woman about to give birth seemed to get the most results, but they all either ran off to get help or were dragged away by companions. She growled slightly, cursing Calista and cursing Connor, the brats were now very much clued into everything, and it wouldn't be long before Calista had everything she needed to destroy her. A bringer stood by the door, watching her, at least it appeared to be but since it had no eyes it was a mystery if he actually was. He could have been counting imaginary sheep for all she knew. She really hated the things they were disgusting. She appreciated beauty, that was one of the reasons she'd chosen Cordelia as her host, because of her exotic beauty she would have no trouble in wooing Connor or anyone else. She appreciated the dark beauty of the body, a perfect contrast to, in her opinion, plain, pale, blond Calista. She really didn't like that girl.

_'Stupid Powers and their meddling ways.'_ she thought to herself angrily. It was all the Powers that Be's fault; they'd created the girl for Connor, just to stop her plans. And of course the idiot hadn't a clue of how powerful she really was as a pure creation of the Powers. Cordelia _really_ hated idiots who didn't see the full picture.

"You know pacing can't be helping us." said The First as it stepped out of the shadows in the form of Daniel Holtz. Cordelia turned to it and snarled

"Yes well it's the only thing I can do it seems. Do you realise that Calida, the little bitch, is protecting the girl with her own magic so I can't attack her with my spells."

"The Children of the Vampires, have almost no power left, Connacht, the annoying idiot that he is, refuses to let them move on so they're still there draining their own power. They are weak. How is it that you cannot penetrate it."

"Because I have to use most of my magic to sustain my new host." Cordelia stroked her belly softly. The First narrowed its eyes in anger as it suddenly stiffened.

"The girl has reached a crucial time, her magic is being unlocked." Cordelia's eyes went wild,

"No, no, not now, I'm so close, I just need one sacrifice!"

"Calm down. The power is within her but the true key to it will come from an outer source, one that I think we should take and I shall have some fun with, before eliminating." The face of Holtz smiled sadistically. Cordelia wrinkled her nose as she looked it up and down.

"Why do you pretend to be that old wrinkle?"

"Because I have appeared twice now, impersonating Daniel Holtz, the first time was to attempt to distract them by making them suspicious of Connor, because he has no destiny and a choice of whether he's good or evil, but that didn't work thanks, once again, to Connacht and his little story. The second was only a short time ago, and I managed to scare the girl quite badly. It seems she fears Holtz as much as she cares for him. I believe the same could be said for the boy." Cordelia shrugged her shoulders, uninterested. The First got stern again and snapped, "You'd better get your little virgin soon, or else the girl will get rid of you and I won't be able to stop it." and it vanished. Cordelia bit her lip as she looked out the window, desperate for someone to walk by.

* * *

Wow, things a slowly heating up (grins). What'll happen next?

Night's Darkness


	14. Bedknobs and Broomsticks kinda

Sorry but I was in France for ages. Anyway I've having serious writers block, so sorry that these next two chapters are short but I don't want to put the big part in until I'm happy with it.

* * *

**Balance chp 14:** **Bedknobs and Broomsticks... kinda**

Calista woke up in her bed snuggled up to Connor. Her back was against his chest and his arms were around her and his hands rested on her belly. Looking at the clock she saw it was six a.m. She sighed softly and relaxed into Connor's arms more. Connor stirred and sat up slightly to lean over and kiss her softly.

"Morning." he whispered, smiling. She smiled back, rolling over and then said,

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"For not being able to… you know." He chuckled and stroked her cheek,

"Its fine you have a good reason." She sighed and ran her hand up his chest under the covers. It was true she did have a good reason but that was also why she wanted to. She chuckled, slightly bitter and put her hand to the side of her head and leaned on her elbow on the bed.

"If it wasn't because the fate of the world rested on me staying pregnant then I would have, because I am past ready to get these kids out." Connor put a hand behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. After a moment he said

"No matter what, I'll be there for you, even if it's only to cheer you on." She laughed and leaned down and kissed him again. He touched her face softly and pulled her closer to deepen the kiss. A crash made them jump apart and sit up. A mass of computer chips, wires and coloured plastic lay on the ground.

"My gameboy!" whined Connor softly. Calista looked at him, one light eyebrow slightly raised. "What? I liked my gameboy."

* * *

The Scoobies and the Fang Gang were starting to gather in the lobby, most still bleary-eyed. Just then Lorne came down, singing cheerfully to the tune of 'Sound of music' but with new words

"_The room is alive with the vibes of love_!" Everyone looked at the cheery demon as he took Fred's hand and began to dance with her saying, "The air is clean and fresh and love is back in the air ladies and gentlemen!" he dipped Fred making her giggle then straighten them both and walked on, a spring in his step and a grin on his face. Angel stepped up to him to ask

"Connor and Calista?" Lorne put a hand on both his upper arms and declared

"Yes indeed chief, we got nothing but love vibes now, plus the pregnancy vibes which are loud and strong, always a good sign!" he then walked into the kitchen singing again. The people in the lobby shared amused looks.

"I can see why you keep him around." smiled Buffy. Angel half-shrugged and smiled slightly.

"Well alright then, the kids are back together, now all we need to do is unlock Calista's mojo, and save the world again." said Gunn, all business.

"First bit already conquered!" called Calista as she and Connor came down hand in hand. They turned to them, Fred asking,

"What?" Connor explained

"Calista finally unlocked the power. By the way I need a new gameboy!" Calista rolled her eyes and went to slap his arm when, as she flicked her wrist, Connor went flying over the banister and into the wall on the other side of the lobby. He slid down so he was sitting on the ground,

"Ow." he deadpanned, Calista cringed and said meekly

"Sorry." She then smiled at the others sheepishly, "I didn't mean to do that." Connor stood up, brushing himself off and then sat down on the step as if nothing had happened.

"See what we mean?" he asked as he propped his head in his hands.

"Kinda." said Willow, her green eyes wide and nervous.

"Well obviously your knew found powers are unpredictable and uncontrolled and you need to get them under control, but unfortunately-"

"Unfortunately I haven't got the time to really learn how to do that properly." cut in Calista sighing. Wesley nodded. "Of course, cause stress is really something that's useful in a time when I have to save the world." she sat down and folded her arms across her chest irritably. Wesley shrugged helplessly. Giles stepped forward.

"W-well I suggest we teach you some basic spells to start and see how they work." Calista nodded and stood up and said

"Well no time like the present." They set to work. Willow, Wesley and Giles began to teach her how to use the powers she now had and Buffy, Faith, Connor, Angel and Spike trained the potentials, while Xander, Anya, Fred, Lorne, Gunn, Dawn and Robin began to look up spells that could help defeat Cordelia and The First, while Andrew, on Buffy's orders, cooked food for everyone.

"You know what I can't figure out." said Xander suddenly after the research group had spent a couple of hours researching and coming up empty handed, "How come Calista's powers suddenly appeared, I mean why not before, or when something dramatic was happening as things usually happen with us?" everyone looked at each other as if they might have the answer but of course all they got was blank faces.

"It does seem kinda un-climactic." said Dawn as she turned the page of the book she was trying to read, she could read Sumerian, more or less, but she was going cross-eyed from it all. They all shrugged then went back to reading. Suddenly there was a mini explosion in the room Willow and the two ex-watchers were training Calista. Everyone rushed to the room, as soon as the doors were opened they were engulfed by purple smoke. Buffy coughed and waved a hand in front of her face as she squinted to see what was going on. Calista had her face in her hands and Willow, Giles and Wesley looked a little singed. Willow turned to them and said

"Don't worry everything's okey dokey!" Calista looked at her and snorted in disbelief.

"It's just the fact that any spell Calista casts is amplified by ten every time because of her power." explained Wes. After a few more assurances they were shooed out. Willow turned to Calista and said

"Ok lets try again."

"Oh no!" exclaimed Calista angrily, "No! I am not doing anything until I get a break! The doctor told me to get some rest and guess what! This does not count as rest!" she sat down angrily. The others looked at each other helplessly then she said softly, "I'm sorry."

"No it's ok." smiled Willow understandingly.

"No, it's not I shouldn't be angry at you, I'm just very tired and frustrated with this." She took a deep breath and stood up, "Ok lets try this again." She went to the middle of the room and shook her hands, flexing her fingers.

"Ok now, concentrate, I want you to send a small fire ball at Willow, keep it small, Calista." said Wesley slowly and Calista closed her eyes in concentration. She raised one hand, fingers lightly curled, to hover near her head. Suddenly she moved and made a short throwing motion, stretching her fingers out. A fireball the size of a bowling ball flew at Willow so fast she had to duck instead of raising a shield. The wall gave a small explosion, but only in one place instead of everywhere as had been the case before. Calista beamed proudly.

"Well done that's much better. Now lets try shields." Calista agreed eagerly and they set to work. The way Calista seemed to find the easiest to control was if she envisioned the effects of the spell then recreated the image from her mind to the real world. Willow threw simple fireballs at her and she had to bring up the shield. It seemed to work but then again Willow was only using small ones.

"Use a massive one this time Willow!" Calista cried eagerly, she was starting to really get into and enjoy this power she was now starting to control. Willow looked hesitant, she really did not want to use one in case Calista got hurt, it was safe to say both Connor and Angel would kill her if that happened. "Come on Willow, I know I can do it!" The two ex-watchers shrugged their shoulders, they honestly didn't know if it was a good idea. She sighed and then nodded in consent. Calista nodded back, raising her hand to be ready. Willow focused and then shot a massive fire ball at her, its diameter as tall as her. Calista sharply held her hand up, fingers out stretched and a shield, like a bubble formed around her. She held it until the flames faded away, then let it drop, swaying slightly in exhaustion. Wesley moved quickly, and it was well done that he did because the next moment her legs gave out and he was just able to catch her.

"That was neat." she panted. Giles grabbed the chair and pulled it over so Wesley could sit her down on it. Willow passed her the bottle of water, which she took gratefully.

"Maybe we _should _take a break, and Calista while the power is definitely there and you really couldn't make it stronger, you aren't used to it, so it burns up all your energy." She nodded wearily. Willow helped her stand at her request and they walked into the lobby where the research was going on. Xander looked up as they came in

"Hey how's the miracle girl doing?"

"Praying for one, because that's what we'll need to win this fight." she answered as she sat down.

"Don't worry by the time it happens you'll be ready to save Cordy." said Wesley soothingly

"Yes you'll beat The First without breaking a nail or your waters." agreed Anya, Fred nodded, but the slight smile on her face faded as she straightened, a realisation coming to her.

"Wait, who is Calista taking on? The First or Cordelia?"

"The First!"

"Cordelia!" Gunn, Wesley, Xander, Willow and Dawn, looked at Anya, Robin, and Giles. The former had said 'Cordelia' but the latter had said 'The First'.

"She's taking on Cordelia." said Gunn frowning slightly.

"No she's destroying The First Evil." stated Anya matter of factly.

"I thought rescuing Cordy was our first priority." said Dawn, nervously tapping her pencil on the open book.

"No The First is the one, we have a chance to defeat The First Evil, its too important to pass up."

"What about our Cordelia?" asked Lorne standing up, his face etched in worry.

"The First is bigger then your friend." said Robin softly, but with conviction.

"Hello, evil Power that Be possessing said friend!" said Xander raising his hand.

"The thing inside Cordelia needs to be destroyed, Calista is our only way of doing that without killing Cordy." said Wesley, "The First could be destroyed another way I'm sure, but we've no other way of helping Cordy."

"We have found no other way to destroy The First and unless you've been holding out on us neither do you!" exclaimed Anya irritably.

"Holding out on what?" asked Buffy as she and the others came in while the potentials took a quick break.

"Buffy who's Calista gonna take on?" asked Willow, turning to the blonde woman. Connor looked to his mate who was staring at her stomach a very tired and frustrated look on her pretty features. He walked over to her as Buffy said

"I thought she was tackling The First!"

"See!" said Anya smartly

"Buffy I thought Calista was tackling Cordelia." said Angel coming up behind her looking confused. Buffy shook her head

"No we need to stop The First, it is our top priority."

"And what about Cordelia?" demanded Gunn, "You just gonna abandon her to die when that thing that went whoosh goes pop?"

"No but there has to be another way, maybe a spell of some kind that could do it. The First is very important, it's the beginning of all evil and we finally have a chance to get rid of it forever, we have to take the chance."

"But Buffy, if that thing is born then The First will be the least of our worries."

"And what about The First? Its building an army and Calista is the only chance we have to beat it."

"And what about Calista in all of this?" snapped Connor, having had enough. "What about what she thinks? What about her safety? What about our babies?" He had his hand on her shoulder and was glaring at them furiously. Calista looked at them sadly. They all realised how rotten they'd just been and quieted down.

"Wow when you guys get together it really is a bush of apples." They whirled around to see a very familiar face. "I know the real term is a bowl of cherries, but I hate cherries and love apples so…" Connacht trailed off with a shrug of his shoulders. He was standing by the reception table looking at them, tossing an apple up and down with one hand.

"What are you doing here?" asked Angel in confusion, he honestly had not expected to see the guy again after their last meeting and Xander's passing remark.

"Well I'll admit your little friend really ticked me off with his little comment," he pointed at Xander who looked sheepish, "but then I remembered how bad humans are at thinking before they speak, I mean no offence but the human race isn't always the brightest, I mean two world wars, killing each other over stupid things, global warming, murdering each other left and right etc. in fact you lot are some of the brightest but I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not… but I'm pretty sure that your stupidity has rubbed off on those two because I know they cannot be that slow on the obvious uptake." Connor and Calista frowned in confusion as he pointed to them. Just then Andrew came in, wearing an apron and carrying a quiche.

"Who's hungry?" he crowed before he noticed Connacht, "Oh, hey, want some quiche?" Connacht shook his head although his face said he wanted some. Calista re-focused the conversation.

"What do you mean?" Connacht rolled his eyes as he leaned his head back in exasperation.

"I mean, that you should be able to figure out what's going on and why you only have the chance to defeat one." Their faces were blank.

"Oh for the love of- its because-!" Connacht's words suddenly changed to nonsensical babble. He stopped and shook his head, frowning, then tried again, "It's-" once again nothing but gibberish. He stopped, sighed, and then chuckled ironically, muttering "Calida." He looked at them an ironic smile on his features. "She won't let me tell you because you're meant to figure it out on your own."

"Well according to you we're to dumb to do that so how about Calida just let you tell us." suggested Xander.

"She says that you need to figure it out yourselves, something about the impact of it giving the needed results… I dunno." He shrugged again, tossing the apple high into the air, and when it came down a second one fell with it. He began juggling them with one hand as he muttered under his breath. Those with exceptional hearing could make out, "Can't… them?" he caught the two apples in both hands and said

"Ok I can give you a _nudge_ in the right direction, but that's all." He clearly was not happy about it.

"Ok then start nudging."

"Uh… actually I have no clue what to say… for once in my life." He smiled sheepishly at them as they all sighed, now he was getting on their nerves. They had respect for him but God help them he could get annoying. "Ok, ok, look!" he exclaimed, "Basically what's happening is happening on three scales, globally, in one person and again in one person… just in a different way."

"That's it? That's the nudge?"

"Don't blame me! Look I can't interfere anymore but I gotta ask this. Do you know why we didn't just poof all the demons away, I mean you saw we had the power to, but we didn't. Why did we just boost the lights powers when it was so weak?" They frowned in thought.

CRASH!

* * *

Don't worry I'm not that mean...

Night's Darkness


	15. Smashy smashy

Once again sorry this is so short.

* * *

**Balance chp 15: Smashy, Smashy**

They all leapt up as the windows were smashed and tons of Bringers flooded the lobby. Andrew screamed and dropped his quiche. Dawn, Willow and Faith quickly surrounded Calista while Connor stepped forward to defend them. Angel groaned as he thought of how much it was going to cost to have the windows fixed as he ducked under the swipe of an axe. He punched the Bringer in the face and grabbed its axe and used it to chop its head off. He kicked away a second and used the axe to kill a third. He looked around and saw a Bringer hit Connor over the head with a heavy rock. Connor dropped like a stone. Angel let out a cry of anger and threw the axe, hitting the Bringer in the head. It dropped down dead. Angel made his way to Connor, struggling with several more Bringers. A scream from Dawn made him look around. They were surrounded and were having a hard time keeping them at bay. Angel saw Spike and noticed that he was having the same problem of getting to them but Angel had a clear path to his grand-childe.

"Spike!" he shouted over the noise. Spike looked to him. Angel nodded to Calista, cupping his hands, making his intention obvious with gestures. Catching on, Spike ran straight for him, leaping up to land one foot in Angel's hands and with his boost flying over everyone and landing neatly in front of Calista. She looked surprised to see him then quipped,

"Nice of you to drop in." Spike grinned at her then whirled around and punching a Bringer in the face. The bringer swung its knife at him but he blocked with one arm and punched with the other. Just as the bringer dropped to the ground unconscious, the others just seemed to vanish and the fighters were left standing slightly confused at the abrupt end to the fight.

"Ok anybody else thinking that was way to easy." asked Gunn. Xander raised his hand followed by Willow and Buffy.

"My quiche!" wailed Andrew

"They left awfully quick when they seemed intent on dong away with us." mused Wes ignoring the annoying little man.

"Damnit, I hate this!" snapped Connacht, glaring at his hands. They jumped, they'd completely forgotten about him.

"Hate what?" asked Dawn curiously.

"I hate being incorporeal! I can't snap those damn bringers necks!" His fingers flexed like he would have given anything to have that ability again.

"What are you-" started Angel in confusion but Connacht cut him off.

"Angel catch!" He tossed the apple to him, and he tried to catch it but it just passed right through him to land on the floor.

"Ah!" deadpanned the dark vampire. Connacht walked towards and straight through him to reclaim the fruit. Angel freaked "Ok please never do that again!" Connacht grinned at him as he walked back to where he had been near the desk. Suddenly Calista's frightened, soft voice rang out clear

"Where's Connor?"

* * *

Oh dear…

Night's Darkness


	16. Dead weight

**Balance chp 16: Dead weight**

Everybody looked around in sudden panic as they saw she was right, Connor was gone. Angel swore badly as he remembered

"They hit him over the head, knocking him out, I tried to get to him but got distracted by Dawn's screams, they must have gotten him out while no one was looking."

"Thanks for stating the bloody obvious Peaches." sneered Spike, but his face was worried.

"Oh that's not good." stated Connacht looking worried. There was a sudden movement, a yelp of surprise and a crash as Calista lunged at him and grabbed him, pinning him to the wall. Connacht's eyes were massive, "Ok this should not be happening." He stated as Calista glared at him,

"Where is he?" she snarled.

"How should I-" His response was cut off as she slammed him in to the wall again.

"You set all of this up, you said so. Everything that happens to humanity is planned by you, so I'll ask you again, where is Connor?" Connacht's eyes widened even more.

"Oh boy, no, no, you don't understand I don't-" she slammed him again, harder against the wall. "Please don't do that!"

"Tell me where he is and I won't!" she snapped

"I can't because I haven't a clue!" shouted Connacht, he seemed very nervous, "L-look, maybe beginners wasn't the right word for us, maybe a b-better word would have been idea people."

"What?" Calista looked ready to kill. Connacht started speaking quickly, but he couldn't help but stammer slightly,

"We, we don't always know how things will happen, we just give something with potential but circumstances influence how it occurs."

"What are you talking about?" she hissed.

"W-well, uh, f-for instance, The Slayer! We created the idea of the slayer, we g-gave the idea to the humans, b-but we had no idea how they would bring it about."

"So how did they do it?" asked Buffy softly. Connacht looked over Calista's shoulder, with regret in his eyes.

"They chose one girl, they tied her to the earth both literally and metaphorically and…" he closed his eyes, "they violated her by forcing a demon's spirit, heart, strength, essence, into her. She was given no choice." Everyone was horrified by this. Connacht's voice softened, his eyes opening, "If we'd, if we'd know they'd do that, then we might never have created the Slayer, or tried to set it up in conjunction with another occurrence. What we did, we gave the humans chances, but it always depended on everything, where, when, the people around, the culture, everything. I mean, do you honestly think if we'd known Hitler would become a freaking conqueror and mass murderer that we would have created him."

"You created Hitler!" exclaimed Gunn, his mouth open in shock.

"Well we gave Germany, should it ever fall on seriously bad times, a person to get it together, but if we'd known he'd be the evilest and most twisted person to ever live then we'd never have done it. But it's not our fault, it's humans, and their own selfishness, or desires or whatever, like I said it depends."

"So you knew that Germany would be the cause of WW1."

"No, no, no! We rarely know when, where or in what form these kinds of things will come in, they're just helpers, and safety measures and they keep you going, if you didn't have them you'd have died out years ago!"

"While this is all very fascinating, this isn't helping us find Connor!" snapped Calista, slamming Connacht into the wall for the fourth time.

"You know that really does hurt!" he snapped. Calista just glared. "Look I have no idea where he is, I could possibly try to find him for you but that's it! I can't get him out or anything and I don't just know these things." Calista opened her mouth to speak again but all that came out was a sudden groan as she doubled over in pain, curling around her stomach.

"Calista? What's wrong? Is it contractions?"

"No, it's something else." she whispered, feeling awful. "The babies have stopped kicking, they aren't moving at all." They helped her to the couch. Connacht watched her for a moment with worry then, he came over, putting his hand on her stomach, closing his eyes. He then pulled away,

"I was afraid of this." he whispered.

"Afraid of what? What's wrong?" asked Fred as she sat beside the girl. Connacht sighed softly,

"We're running out of time." The words were soft but they rang clear.

"What do you mean, running out of time." asked Angel feeling a low anger building up in his gut. Connacht ignored him instead he tried to sit on the table in front of Calista. _Tried_ being the main word here, as he fell right through it. Uttering a few choice words, he crouched down staring at Calista intently.

"Calista I need you to listen to me very carefully, ok?" she nodded wincing slightly. "Calista there is something about your power that you need to know. If you don't use it then it'll kill you and the babies." Calista looked at him with horror. "The power has been building up with each passing moment, and it can only be used once in one big showdown. If you don't release it, when you give birth the power will… for lack of a better word, overload and explode but by then the babies will already be dead, it's draining their life force" Calista stared at him for a few silent seconds, then abruptly slapped him across the face

"HOW DARE YOU!" she screamed, "HOW DARE YOU PUT MY BABIES IN DANGER TO GET ME TO COOPERATE!" She made to hit him again but he ducked back and said

"It wasn't our idea, hell we never decided to create our own reincarnations! It was the Powers, they saw what was happening among them… took them long enough, and set things up, you… well they sorta just created you with their own power, they knew they couldn't create two children of vampires so they created you with the power inside you, and sent you to Qour-Toth where they knew the rouge Power had decided to send Connor to have the timing right. The rogue had taken full advantage of Connor's creation but it didn't have a hand in it at all."

"So basically everything surrounding Calista was created to stop this rogue, she was never created to just live?" asked Buffy angrily

"She was just seen as a tool to fix their… broken motor if you will." Connacht looked fairly sick at the statement. He sighed as he crouched back down in front of Calista. "Calista? I need you to listen and I need you to think." Calista nodded, "Calista, why do you think you've only been given the chance to destroy one or the other, not both?"

"Because the powers didn't feel like The First was their problem?" asked Gunn.

"Well for them yes but this is much bigger then the Powers, this is something that no one, no matter how hard they try, can change, something that was needed for everything to be possible. Calista you know what this is, just think." Calista's face was crumpled as she fought back tears of despair. "What does the world need? What does the universe need to keep going? What does every person on this planet need to live a full life?" Calista started to shake her head then stopped mid-shake and her eyes lit up with a realisation. She whispered so soft they barely caught it,

"Balance." Connacht clapped his hands in pure relief.

"Yes, oh thank you! You got it Calista!" he cried. Calista rose and began to pace, thinking out loud,

"Everyone needs a balance in their lives, challenges to match the relief. The world needs a balance of good and evil… because one cannot exist without the other, without good, there is no evil, but without evil there is no good. Like there is no darkness if there is not light to show it." Connacht whooped in joy

"Yes she's got it now, oh yes, c'mon Calista!"

"I can't destroy both because that would destroy the balance, that's it! That's the reason! The world's off on the scale, I've got to set it right!" she exclaimed. She somehow looked terrified and giddy at once. Connacht grinned in pure delight as he jumped up to his feet. The others were starting to understand what was going on and were talking excitedly about it now. "I can't." They all froze in mid word or movement, and looked at her. "I can't do this I can't, it's, it's too much." Angel went up to her and took her hand giving it a squeeze.

"You can do this Calista, you've already done so much, and this one last thing will be the end of it all. You survived Qour-Toth, you survived being alone in a world that was cold and uncaring, all the while protecting two beautiful souls, and through it all you didn't give up. If you can do that, you can do anything." She began to cry.

"I can't do this Angel. Not without my Steven. I need him with me for this, like he promised he would be." Angel felt his heart break for her.

"You can do this, Calista, and we're all going to be there for you, all of us. I know we can't replace Connor, and no one wants to but we do care about you too." She bit her lower lip in nervousness as two tears made trails down her cheeks. She placed her hands on the bulge that was her belly and turned away slowly, looking down. Angel, for the first time, noticed that she'd always worn her hair up, either in a bun or ponytail, always tied with the same piece of material. A quick whiff told him it was leather like what Connor had been wearing when he first came through the portal. He wasn't sure why this seemed so important to him now.

Calista rubbed her belly, feeling the babies pressed against it, a near dead weight. Her babies were dying and her love was gone. At that moment she knew what it meant to be truly alone and she was terrified. She knew she had to do this, but she was terrified, what if she failed? Then the whole world was doomed and if she didn't, then she and the babies would die and _then_ the whole world was doomed.

_'Damned if you do, damned if you don't.'_ She finally got what that meant. She'd only heard it once and hadn't understood, but now she did. She didn't have any real choice. She sighed and looked at looked at her Steven's father.

"Can I just have a few minutes alone?"

"Sure." he answered his voice gentle and caring. She walked into the office, past everyone ignoring their stares and sat down on the seat.

A soft sigh escaped her lips sweeping through the room, caressing the books.

* * *

Angel shifted from foot to foot as the door closed behind Calista then he abruptly said

"I need some air." and walked outside. He looked over the garden, the sweet smell of the jasmine slightly soothing.

"It's tough being depended on isn't it?" Connacht came up beside him, his eyes scanning the garden, as if he'd never see such beauty like it again and wanted to print it on his memory.

"Yeah." Angel whispered as he leaned his head back to look at the sky.

"You know the stars were different back in my time. They formed different shapes, told different stories, but they're still the same stars." Angel looked at him, playing clueless,

"Am I supposed to interpret that?"

"Yes." Angel looked back up thinking hard, his mind trying to form the connections. He smiled slightly as he realised.

"Different people, different situations… but there'll always be someone who has to lead, who has to make the path. Right?" Connacht grinned at him.

"Bingo." He whispered. Angel looked back inside and murmured

"She'll be fine, she's strong. She can do it."

"Uh, no she can't." Angel's head turned so fast his neck cricked.

"WHAT?" he hissed. Connacht pulled a face as he explained.

"She was right when she said she needed Connor, without him you're all screwed." Angel stepped closer, and, despite being dead and a ghost, both of which seemed to have slipped the smaller ones mind, Connacht gulped.

"Talk. Fast."

"Ok, see, Calista needs a perfect balance within herself, her emotions have finally balanced out because she let it all out last night, her body is in a perfect state because she's pregnant, the one thing that all women wish for and allows them to feel perfection. The creation of life. But she's still not balanced enough to allow the main burst of power to engulf her, believe me I say the people in Australia will know when it happens. What she's done so far are just, no not even, the lead up. Connor is her other half, without him… well…"

"Screwed?"

"Screwed."

"So how do we find him?"

"Father with vampire blood bond and super sense of smell asks son's precarnation in locating said son?" asked Connacht blandly. Angel thought for a second

"Precarnation? Is that even a word?"

"No clue."

"Oh. Coming?" Angel strode back inside as Calista opened the door and went to the weapons cabinet. She opened it and took out a dagger, twirling it expertly in her hand. Despite her gentle features, and prominent belly she looked formidable, and cold.

"Calista what are you doing?" asked Dawn not liking the look on her face.

"My way or no deal." she said coldly, "I'm not going to keep doing what's expected of me, I'm going to do this the way I want to do it. It's either that or I won't do anything at all."

"Aw crap." muttered Connacht in Angel's ear. Angel took that as his queue.

"Calista look, Connacht and I will go looking for Con-Steven, you guys go looking for Cordelia." Calista nodded sharply and spun on her heel as she stalked out of the hotel, her body moving like a snake as it slinked along, instead of the usual waddle they were used to seeing.

"Angel…" started Buffy but Angel cut in smoothly,

"Keep her safe Buffy." She looked at him wanting to go with him but she knew her place was with Calista so she just nodded and called to the others,

"Mount up, we need to get going, Willow I want you and Wesley and Giles to stay in the back, out of the way, in case we need some magic and whatnot."

"Got it Buffy."

"Kennedy, Rona, Molly, I want you to cover them." The three slayers nodded, "Vi, I want you and Amanda to get crossbows and be our long range defence." The two went to the weapons cabinet and pulled out the weapons. Gunn grabbed his favourite axe, running one hand up the smooth handle, Fred grabbed a third crossbow and Angel grabbed his favourite sword. Xander, Anya and Dawn grabbed one of the remaining weapons each. They were all ready now. Then they realised something,

"Uh Calista, wait up!" called Buffy running outside to catch up with the long gone girl. Xander looked at Angel and said,

"Good luck with the search and rescue Deadboy." as he ran off after the others.

"Yeah thanks." Angel looked at Connacht who looked worried again. "I'm beginning to hate that look on your face."

"Same, but things just upped on the badness level."

"I'm afraid to ask, but why?"

"Cause Calista is going to fight Cordelia for all the wrong reasons. She's doing it in anger, not love of her kids and Connor and of the world."

"But that's insane how can she not feel that way?"

"Hey I don't make the rules, I just enforce them." Connacht took on a look of horror, "Did I really just say that?"

"Yes."

"Oh dear God I've become my father!" Angel frowned in confusion, "He may have been evil, and I may have hated his guts, but he was very evil-law abiding, something I guess he stuck on me." He shuddered, then whined, "Calida is the responsible one, not me!"

"As fascinating as this is how do I find my son?"

"Oh, that's the easy part, just close your eyes and focus on your bond with him, don't you remember what Lorne said the day after Connor was born? He's deeply connected to you. If you just focus on Connor and nothing else, you'll be able to find him, no matter where he is." Angel sighed and closed his eyes. He let all his most vivid images of Connor float around his head. He saw baby Connor sleeping, baby Connor crying, he saw older Connor attacking and older Connor playing. He saw his son's eyes, so like his mothers, full of age, full of sadness and confusion, but there was still a spark, something which couldn't be put out. He saw Connor as he stared at Calista, completely spellbound by her even when she didn't notice. Suddenly he felt something tugging at him, pulling at him with urgency. Angel followed it quickly, Connacht right on his heels. He was pulled down the street, taking a sharp left. He had no real idea where he was going, but he decided to let Connacht worry about that, he just concentrated on his son.

* * *

If anyone's offended by the Hitler thing I apologise, but I couldn't really think of any other examples, at least ones that were world famous. Sorry again.

Night's Darkness


	17. Torturous Thoughts

I'm not that cruel... or am I?

* * *

**Balance chp 17: Torturous Thoughts**

Connor had a massive headache as he came around. He went to touch his head but found he couldn't, his hands were being restrained. He kept his eyes closed as he sniffed the air and strained his ears. He could smell cardboard and wood, mingled with flesh and a nasty smell he knew belonged to the creatures that had attacked them. He could hear them shuffling about, their robes swishing slightly along the floor. He could hear metal being set down on wood and someone humming softly to their self. The voice sounded horribly familiar. He dared open his eyes and saw the one person he really did not want to see.

"Ah you're up, good." said Daniel as he looked at him. Connor was very confused, he'd seen Daniel only a few days ago. Then he quickly realised that this was The First he was seeing, not the man who'd raised him. He also realised that he was chained to a wall by the wrists and ankles. Not a good situation to be in.

"Where am I?" he asked angrily. A bringer hit him across the face and Daniel said calmly,

"Mind your tone Steven!" Connor's head snapped back up and he retorted

"My name is Connor!"

"To Angel and those others you are, but in the end you'll always be my son, Steven, you'll always be the Destroyer of Qour-Toth and the bringer of death." Connor flinched, he hated that he was known as a destructive creature, he'd wanted to get away from it for so long, but fighting was all he knew. Still he denied it.

"You're lying!"

"Am I? Come now Steven, you can't deny that killing, and bringing pain is all you're good at, you bring pain to everyone, demons, Fred, Gunn, Cordelia, Angel, me, Calista! You just can't stop giving in to your demon side, drawing you away from God, going against God's plan."

"What are you talking about?" Connor demanded. Daniel just turned away and the bringers moved in with many nasty looking tools. Connor sighed softly to himself as he looked at the retreating back of his father.

"Same old, same old with you isn't it?" and before his world exploded in a world of pain, he heard a faint.

"Yes."

* * *

"So if the rouge didn't have a hand in Connor's existence then did the Powers?" asked Angel as he took a sharp right. Connacht scoffed,

"That lot? Have a hand in creating a child of vampires when they couldn't get rid of the last batch quick enough? No chance. Nope it wasn't the Powers." Angel hurried up a street and then paused, "What did you lose it?"

"No I just realised we could have taken the car." Connacht gave him an, 'are you stupid?' look

"Angel I can't even sit on a table, much less ride a car!" Angel sighed and continued on. As he got closer, well he assumed it was closer, the tugging got stronger and although he couldn't actually feel it, he knew Connor was in pain.

"So if the Powers, the rouge or you didn't create Connor, who did?"

"Angel, tell me you know the birds and the bees!"

"I am not in the mood for jokes!"

"Ok, ok, easy. Look to be honest I don't know what it is. All I know is that it's the most powerful thing in all dimensions, it's ageless, it's benevolent, it's everything, in everything." Angel paused and looked at him,

"Are you saying that there is a-"

"Angel! You're crying." Connacht pointed to his face, frowning. Angel wiped his face and his fingers came off wet. His forehead creased in confusion.

"These aren't mine." he whispered

"Connor?"

"Must be." Angel rubbed his thumb against his finger feeling the wetness left behind by the tears. He looked up at Connacht, "If the Powers didn't create Connor, why did they create Calista?"

"Because they see the past and the future, they saw he was coming…" Connacht trailed off as his eyes became glazed with thought. After a few moments, he met Angel's eyes again, "Hang on, what if it wasn't the Powers at all, sure they believe it was them and they may have set it up but… what if the same thing that created Connor, created Calista, the balance. Connor and Calista are the balance, that's what soul mates are, they balance each other off. The All must have some reason for creating them but I don't know what it is."

"Is the All not a Wiccan term for the God and Goddess?"

"Look I don't honestly know ok! I am merely using the word All to keep my head straight, or at the very least parallel to the ground." Angel sighed and was about to continue on when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Connacht was looking behind Angel at something that was probably not going to be a nice old lady selling ice-cream.

* * *

Connor fell to his knees, panting, as the bringers released him from the wall. He was exhausted from the torture. His stomach was aching from the hot pokers slammed into it, and his face felt like it had been split in two. His chest was dripping with blood from all the wounds. His legs were badly bruised, but still unbroken, apparently his bones were stronger then the bringers had thought. Daniel came over and began to speak to him again.

"All your life has been devoted to causing pain. Slaughtering demons, failing me, lashing out at Calista, abandoning her, sinking Angel to the bottom of the ocean, betraying Fred and Gunn. You truly are the damnation of hell."

"You're a liar, you always were!" spat Connor angrily, the bringers grabbed his arms and pulled them together, tying them by the wrists.

"No I always told you the truth, it was you who lied. You lied to me, you lied to Angel, you lied to Fred and Gunn and you lied to Calista."

"I never lied to her!"

"Oh! Are you sure?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll leave you to realise the truth, for now I want to talk to you about you. Your creation. Born of darkness to bring darkness, that was what God said of you. You were created of demon hatred, born of revulsion, God delivered you to me so I could try to save your mortal life, even though you would always be damned, for being their son." Connor shuddered, he was always told he was damned for hell, simply because of Angel and Darla and what they were. The bringers tied a long rope that was attached to the roof on a pulley to his wrists. Then another one pulled the other end. Connor rose up off the ground and was suspended from the roof by his arms. His shoulders immediately began screaming their displeasure. "I always tried my best to help you, maybe even destroy the demon in you so you'd be free to walk in God's light, but no, you refused my help, too busy indulging yourself in Calista. Then you abandoned her, even though she was carrying your children, to the cold heartless world, just like you Steven."

"You were more of a demon then I ever will be!" shouted Connor furiously before he could stop himself. "You beat me, you left me all alone when I was five to force me to learn, you filled my head with lies and twisted truths."

"I did what I thought best."

"You did to me what you wanted to do to Angel, but you knew doing it to me was even better because I was Angel's son, and you knew he loved me more then anything!" Connor shouted, his anger flaring within him, all the years of pain suffered at the hands of this man was fuelling his emotions and helping him block out all pain as he glared at Daniel. Suddenly there was a crack and his back screamed with pain. Connor barely flinched to it though, as he took the one thing he cherished from Qour-Toth, his ability to block out all pain. The whip dug into his skin, tore it from his back, but he never took his eyes off of Daniel. But all the while his mind was in a panic, trying to find a way to deny the words, but he kept coming up empty. He kept coming back to the simplicity of the fact that, he, Connor, was a demon hell child, destined to pay for all the pain caused by his parents, that he was by nature, evil. He'd done so many evil things, things he'd deemed necessary, but he'd been kidding himself, none of it had been necessary, not if it was evil. He'd tricked and lied to everyone, he'd gone against God's plan. He'd cause so much pain to everyone. He really was evil. Connor couldn't help it, but in fear, pain and mourning he began to cry silent tears.

* * *

The First watched Connor's eyes as they showed his tormented thoughts and the hope fading from him. It was beautiful to watch. It marvelled at how well the boy was able to ignore the pain of the whips, of how they cut into his skin, tearing it off. Suddenly it watched as a tear rolled down Connor's cheek, followed by another and another. It was amused, it had done very little to break Connor, the boy had done it himself, his own head was filled with enough to crush him like an avalanche, all The First had to do was knock loose those first few pebbles. It was quite ironic; such a strong person breaks himself. It knew that Angel would soon break through the defence of its bringers, so it had to finish this. On its silent command Connor was released and he fell to his knees, bending over in a kind of bow to it. He was shaking and his back was now in bits. His legs were bleeding heavily and his backside was probably so sore he'd never sit right again. Not that he would ever have a chance, no The First Evil couldn't risk such a danger go on living. It kneeled close to Connor to whisper in his ear,

"You know what you are now don't you? You're a monster, an evil thing that doesn't deserve to live, so guess what my son, I am going to spare you the pain of living in this world any longer." Connor looked up at it and it was amazed at the intensity of his eyes, such pretty eyes. They were full of agony, resignation, tears and terror. As much as Connor wanted it all to stop, he was still terrified of death. The First almost regretted having to do this, it would have liked to see what else it would find in those big blue eyes.

"Father?" the boy whimpered, his mind now very lost and confused. It smiled at him,

"Relax my boy soon it will all be over." The bringers picked him up none to gently and pulled him towards his end. "Tell me Steven, do you know what a brazen bull is?" The boy's face was bewildered. "Well don't worry you'll know all about it soon enough." They walked to a brass box with the head of a bull on it. It was roughly the size of a standard coffin, with a lid on top that had been removed already. It was suspended above a great kindling, unlit… for now. Connor didn't know what it was but he clearly knew it was bad because he began to struggle hard, but he was just too exhausted. They lifted him up and laid him on his back in the box, tying him down to it. He whimpered again not liking this at all, but he was just too tired to fight it, too weary of fighting at all. The First stared down at him, fighting to hide its glee. The bringers slowly, almost agonizingly, closed the lid and locked it down. Another lit the fire underneath the box. One could hear noises like a furious bull coming from it already, the boy was afraid of being locked in a place so small. Well he would definitely forget about that once the brass got red hot and he was slowly roasted alive.

* * *

Ok maybe I am evil, hee hee.

Night's Darkness


	18. Baby don't cry

Hope you like this chapter, what will happen in it? Read and find out obviously! Silly question. :-)

* * *

**Balance chp 18: Baby don't cry**

Angel punched another bringer, getting more and more pissed off and as a result, he became even stronger. He could feel it, deep within him, in his soul, Connor was in critical danger. He wasn't going to find his son alive if he didn't move it along. He could hear Connacht shouting at him to hurry, apparently he could sense it too. Angel swung around and lashed out at another Bringer. Suddenly something collided with the back of his skull and he fell to the ground, stars in his vision. He very nearly blacked out, but then,

"DAD!" Connor's voice rang out and Angel knew he was nearly out of time. He couldn't lose his son again. He wouldn't. He flipped back onto his feet and grabbed two bringers and smashed them together so hard he crushed their heads. He let them drop and snapped the neck of the next and then the next. Finally he grabbed the last one and in a fit of rage as Connor's fear seeped through his veins, he lifted the bringer in the air and brought him down onto his knee snapping his spine. He took in an unnecessary breath and looked at Connacht,

"Can you feel it?"

"Death almost smothering your son? Oh yeah, I feel it." They sprinted down the street and came to a warehouse. Connor was in there, he knew it.

"C'mon." They ran up to the door and Angel kicked it in, expecting more defences but instead the area was clear. They had a completely clear path to another door, which made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He was almost too afraid to see what was behind the door.

"Angel?" questioned Connacht, worried about his hesitation. Angel just walked forward. It felt like he was walking miles, but it was really only about twenty feet. Hand trembling slightly he pushed the door open slowly. What he found was not what he expected.

A raging fire was the first thing to be seen then Angel saw the box that was hanging above it, starting to glow orange from the flames licking it almost hungrily. The strangest sound was coming from it, it sounded like a raging ox if he was not mistaken. Then through the flames he saw a man, of whom he held nothing but anger, hate, sadness and regret. Holtz. Of course Angel knew better, he saw the truth at last. He saw The First.

"Welcome Angelus." It greeted.

"Where is he?" snarled Angel. It played dumb.

"Who?"

"Connor! Where is Connor?" Angel didn't have the time or patience for this.

"Take a guess." Angel did and he knew he was right. His son was in that metal box, being roasted alive! He rushed forward to get him out but the flames jumped and came at him and through instinct he recoiled to protect himself. He cursed the weakness of vampires as he covered his face.

"What now Angelus? Will you face up to the flames?" Angel wanted to snap, 'Of course!' but unfortunately the words stuck in his throat. "What would the point of it be? The boy's probably dead by now. But then his life was over a long time ago wasn't it?" Angel glared and said,

"Connor's just starting his life, and he will live it!" With a roar he flung himself at the box ramming into it. The wood of the roof that held the Brazen Bull broke under the strain and the box landed on the ground beside the fire having been knocked away by Angel. The noises within the bull had gotten wilder with each passing second. Angel rolled off the wood as quick as he could praying only his clothes had suffered. He groaned as he felt the flames burning his skin. He lay still for a few seconds before getting up and looking for something to open the box with. The First was shocked, it hadn't honestly expected Angel to risk being burned to dust to save Connor.

"Betcha didn't expect that now did ya?" sniggered a voice that it really detested. It glared at Connacht who beamed at it in an infuriating way. "Let me explain for you, see the love of a parent for a child is immeasurable, and you will never truly be able to comprehend it. A parent will do anything for its child no matter the cost to themselves." It glared at him then in a fit of rage it morphed into its true form. It launched itself at him intent on causing irreparable pain. But Connacht vanished before it could reach him. With a roar it tried to follow him, knowing well where he was going. In its rage it had forgotten about the father and the son.

* * *

Angel found a crowbar that was stained with blood on a table that held many torture weapons, many of which Angel had experienced himself. Now his son's blood was the one that was staining them. He shuddered as he walked, well limped as his leg was badly burned, back to the box and using the crowbar to pry the lid off. The noises were a lot quieter, they were dieing, Connor was dieing and Angel put all his strength into getting the lid off and reaching his son. At last, like a sweet mercy the lid popped off and Angel threw it away and Connor, who had long broken out of his restraints, immediately scrambled to get out. Angel reached into the box and scooped him out, forcibly reminded of when he used to scoop Connor out of his crib, only now Connor was a lot bigger and stronger. Connor struggled for freedom from him, probably thinking he was another torturer.

"Connor, Connor! It's me!" exclaimed Angel as he cradled the frail and torn body in his arms. Connor froze and looked up at him. Angel held back tears of sorrow as he gazed at his sons face for a moment. Tears had stained his cheeks. Blood caked the left side of his face from a nasty gash on his temple, and a hand shaped bruise marred his cheek. But it was the eyes that really got to him. They were broken and pain filled, shining with more tears and devoid of any happiness or innocence. All this Angel took in within the space of three seconds, before Connor suddenly latched onto him, buried his face in Angel's chest and began to positively howl. Angel quickly crouched down to set Connor on the ground and held him as he cried. He moved his hand to gently rub his back but paused as he saw Connor's back. The skin was almost all gone and all that he could see was burned badly. The back of his head was probably the same hidden by his burned hair, as was the rest of his body at the back. He settled for rocking him and whispering soft words to sooth him. Amid the agonizing sobs he could hear Connor crying,

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I want to be good, I want to be good!"

"You are good, you are good Connor, it's ok, it's ok." Angel wasn't honestly sure if his last words were for his own benefit or Connor's. Connor continued to sob, his whole body visibly shaking. Angel let his own tears fall, they dripped onto Connor's head, he'd probably have to have his hair cut off so it was as short as his, Angel found himself thinking. It's funny how a person focuses on such unimportant things when their life is unravelling. Angel felt like his was right at that moment. Connor's sobs softened and he said, his voice shaking

"Oh God dad I'm so sorry!"

"For what?"

"For everything! Cordelia, betraying you, condemning you to the ocean, everything!"

"Its ok Connor, you made mistakes, everyone does. And it doesn't mean I don't love you son."

"How can you love a monster of hell?" cried Connor trying to pull away but Angel held him close.

"You are not a monster Connor, you are my angel, you are my gift, you are my beautiful baby boy." Connor's soft sniffles stopped.

"Promise?" he asked like a child, like the child he was.

"Promise." whispered Angel. Connor seemed to just be thinking it over as he tried to sit up. But his physical injuries finally caught up with his mental and emotional ones. He gasped as he pulled the burned… whatever was left of his back.

"Easy, son, your in pretty rough shape."

"So are you." Connor pointed out. Angel remembered his own injuries and despite himself he winced as he touched his leg, which now began to sting like hell. The skin was red and black with pieces of his $250 pants sticking to it. Connor began to shiver as the air felt cold after being that box. Angel pulled off his coat, which mercifully was still together and put it on his shoulders gently. Nevertheless Connor whimpered as the cool material touched his back sending waves of excruciating pain up through his body.

"Sorry." muttered Angel. Connor shook his head before realising that wasn't a smart idea.

"Not your fault."

"Uh excuse me!" called Connacht as he reappeared in the warehouse, "What the hell are you two still doing here? Have you forgotten Calista and the whole showdown about to happen in the meatpacking district?"

"Calista!" cried Connor his eyes going massive with worry. "What's wrong?"

"Angel! You haven't told him? Ugh never leave a vampire to do a child of the vampire's job! Connor, Calista needs you, you're the last piece of the whole. Oh right you weren't there for this were you? C'mon Angel will explain on the way." and he began to walk away, but stopped and spun around when he realised that neither of them had moved. "Am I talking to a wall here!" he shouted. Angel got to his feet, wincing as he put his weight on his sore leg. Connor could barely stay sitting up so he had no chance of be able to take a single step. Angel knew there was only one way to get them there but he wasn't sure if Connor was up to it. He crouched down with his back to Connor and said

"Hold on tight to me son." Connor, catching on, slowly pulled himself onto his fathers back and gripped on tightly. Angel got to his feet marvelling at Connor's lightweight. Connor rested his head on Angel's shoulder, exhaustion setting in. Angel sighed as he felt Connor's breathing even out. He knew Connor needed to stay awake, he could easily never wake up again but he just couldn't bring himself to waking him.

"Oh c'mon, please, things are getting worse by the second!" cried Connacht looking desperate. Angel looked at him in surprise, if he didn't know better he'd swear there were tears in his eyes. Connacht must have noticed him staring because he quickly turned away and said,

"Look, I uh, I can't stay any longer, I'm draining a lot of my peoples power, and I can't let it run out. So I have to go."

"Right, sure." Angel muttered a little confused, "Uh, thank you for your help. You said the meatpacking district?"

"Yeah, you won't miss them." Connacht looked over his shoulder and gave him a small smile as a tear fell. "Bye." and he just faded away without another sound. Angel sighed and said to the unconscious Connor.

"Well kiddo, looks like we're on our own." and he began to limp as fast as he could trying not to jostle his son.

* * *

Buffy groaned as she was hit in the chest by a Bringer. The meatpacking district had become a war zone. Potential slayers were spread out fighting as hard as they could, but she'd seen at least two go down. Willow was zapping bringers with little bolts from her fingers as they came near her and Giles, who was helping her. Dawn and Faith were working together and Dawn was really holding her own. Buffy was torn between worry and pride at that. Spike was having a great time taking his anger at his recent torture from the bringers on any that came near him. Gunn and Wesley were watching each other's backs and Lorne and Fred were above on the roof of one of the buildings shooting arrows from crossbows at any enemy who got too close to the centre of the action. Calista and Cordelia stood facing each other, and there was a circle of free space around them, like everyone knew better then to get between them. They were throwing spells and hexes at each other and neither could get the upper hand. They were perfectly matched and Buffy knew that Calista was beginning to get panicked over it. Why couldn't she stop her? Buffy wished she knew.

* * *

"_Seiza jai n'hast engai!"_ Cordelia shouted and threw her hand across in front of her like she was trying to scratch Calista's face! Calista screamed in agony as her head snapped back. She then staggered forward, her head hanging and she nearly collapsed to the ground. Blood dripped from her nose, but she wiped it away and snarled

"_Geth na haroth castellum tol."_ A wave of orange light flew at Cordelia and knocked her over so she landed on the ground with a grunt. Calista panted hard, she was nearly spent, if she couldn't finish this soon she was never going to see the next sunrise. She tried to come up with another spell but couldn't and cursed herself. Cordelia had regained her footing and snarled at her,

"You are going down bitch!" and she clenched her hand into a fist and brought it down going on one knee to smash it to the ground, her eyes going white as she shouted, _"Quod perditum est invenietur!" _The whole ground shook violently, and many of the fighters fell, but Calista managed to remain standing. And she laughed!

"Cordelia do you not know anything about Qour-Toth?" she chortled, "Earthquakes are a constant there, I'm used to them, just like I'm used to pain, blood, tears and anger. And right now all my anger is pointed…" she raised her hand and pointed one long feminine finger at the dark 'woman', "at you!" The ground around Cordelia began to explode, hot air and fire erupted from it and rained upon her. She screamed in pain as the heat scalded her. Calista put a hand on her stomach as she felt the babies weight becoming heavier as their lives faded. Calista whimpered, thinking Cordelia wouldn't notice. Unfortunately fate had never really seemed to like her, so Cordelia did see. And she knew exactly how to destroy the stupid girl.

"You think that a little heat will stop me? Honey you don't even know what I am. But I'll let you in on a little know fact, once I have something I don't like loosing it. You took my dark champion away from me, so now I'm gonna return the favour. Since Connor's already dead there's only one thing left to take." Calista went white. Connor was dead? No it couldn't be true! But she barely had time to think about it because in that instant Cordelia chanted _"Te implor doamne. Nu ignora accasta rugaminte lasa orbita sa fie vasul care-i va transporta sufletul la el."_ Calista's body was engulfed by a sickly green glow and she screamed in pure agony, clutching her belly and falling to her knees. The glow faded and her chin rested against her chest and as the glow left her she went limp. The bringers and the slayers all looked at her. Cordelia whispered, her voice laced with malice,

"Strange isn't it? They're there, but they're not. Pity, I hear stillborns are harder to give birth to." Buffy gasped in utter horror. Had Cordelia just done the unthinkable? Had she really just killed the babies? No, no it was impossible! Calista knelt before the enemy clutching her belly and tears began to pour down her cheeks and she let out a scream of pure pain, sorrow and fury so horrible that all who heard it had to cover their ears in pain. Calista couldn't feel the babies, they weren't in there! Physically yes, but there was no connection mentally or emotionally. Their essence was gone, they were gone.

'_No, no, no, no, no, no, no!'_ She screamed in her head. Cordelia smirked and held her hand up palm facing the sky. A ball of red energy began to form and build up there. This would be the killing blow. She waited till Calista looked up at her and when their eyes met she threw it at her with a great force.

"Calista look out!" screamed a new voice. Angel and Connor had arrive, both looking like they'd been through a shredder! Calista covered her ears with her hands and screamed,

"STOP IT! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" and from the ground a dome of blue light formed around her and the ball of red energy dissipated as it collided with the wall. Cordelia snarled in anger. Connor's eyes popped open and in a flash he was off Angel's back and rushed forward to the dome pushing through it. They watched as he fell forward to land on the ground. He didn't get up again.

* * *

For anyone who knows Latin or just knows Angel and Buffy you may notice I just used the same spells that Willow and Cordelia used when Willow was trying to restore Angel's soul. I don't know any real Latin or spells so I just used ones that sounded cool. Sorry if that upsets anyone.

Night's Darkness


	19. I'd do anything

Hee things don't look good do they?

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**Balance chp 19: I'd do anything**

Connor lay very still, the pain scorching his body, leaving him gasping for breath. He slowly managed to raise his head and look around. He couldn't see outside the wall of blue light. The only thing he saw was a broken figure, lying huddled on the ground curled up, whimpering softly.

"Calista!" he called struggling to get up. He managed to drag himself towards her but he fell to the ground, his energy spent. He lay still again, giving his own body time to regain a little energy. He then dragged himself closer and got a little further this try, but he quickly fell again and he growled in hatred of his own weakness. Finally he decided it was now or he'd never get there. He pulled himself back up onto his elbows and pulled himself to Calista, his stomach screaming in pain as he stretched the wounds. His fingertips brushed her back and he finally reached her managing to lean over to look at her, his arm going around her. She wasn't aware of him as she cried, clasping her belly and wailing softly in despair. Tears poured down her cheeks, mingling with blood from a cut just below her right eye. Her clothes were torn and bloodstained and her long hair was all askew. Yet Connor still thought she was beautiful.

"Calista." he whispered in her ear. She looked at him and the tears began anew.

"I'm sorry." she choked out, "I'm so sorry, oh God help me, help me!" He hadn't heard Calista pray since they'd been reunited, heck, he hadn't either. He really hoped God heard her prayer along with his silent one, because they needed help. "I'm sorry my babies, oh I'm so sorry I couldn't save you." She wept into her arms. Tears fell down Connor's cheeks, and he put his hand over her tummy,

"At least you tried Calista, I know they understood."

"We'll never know!" she wailed, "They are in heaven now and we're condemned, we'll never see them now."

"Listen to me Calista, I know this is painful-"

"HOW CAN YOU!" she screamed trying to push him away, but he held onto her. "How can you know how painful this is?"

"THEY WERE MY CHILDREN TOO!" Connor shouted, then quieted his voice, "I loved them with everything I have, I couldn't wait for them to be born so we could finally hold them. To know that I'll never shower them with my love is almost more then I can bear, but the fact that I still have you will keep me going." He suddenly felt something hit his hand and pulled it away from her stomach. Calista continued to cry, like she hadn't even felt it. Connor looked at her abdomen and saw with amazement that a tiny hand shaped bump appeared, then disappeared. Still Calista didn't react, how could she not notice that? "Calista!"

"What Steven?" she asked thickly.

"Look!" she looked at him then followed his gaze to her stomach. She frowned.

"What are you talking about?" He looked at her and was shocked that she couldn't see or feel that.

"Do you really not see that?"

"See what? My stomach holding my dead children?" she growled. Connor suddenly realised what was going on. Cordelia hadn't hurt the babies, she'd just cut Calista off, making sure she couldn't even see the movements. The babies were trying to say they were alright, they were _alive_!

"Calista the babies are still alive! Cordelia's spell is tricking you!"

"Stop it Steven, please just stop it!"

"Listen to me! They. Are. Alive. I can see it, and I can feel it!" His strength was almost gone, he knew he needed to convince her before he passed out.

"Steven, I can't keep this up. I can't stop her, she's too strong. The balance isn't enough!" Balance? Connor tried to understand her when suddenly, like being slapped in the face, he understood, everything clicked into place. He also realised what he needed to do. He took her chin in his hand and made her look at him.

"Calista… you know that I love you, but do you realised what I will do for you?" She frowned in confusion. "Do you know that I'd risk anything for you? Because I would. I would go back to hell and fight and kill every monster, I would go anywhere, do anything for you. That's the way it's always been for me, you have always come first with me. It was always you I searched for in Quor-Toth, always you I made sure was safe, always you Calista." Her eyes were a mass of raw emotion and he couldn't help himself, he leaned down and kissed her hungrily. She held him close and Connor's hands held her stomach, he knew through some instinct what was going to happen. He pulled away just enough to separate their lips and whispered as his remaining strength fled, "No matter what comes, even with our children, you, Calista, will always come first." She smiled softly, then her eyes widened as the final key was turned, the door was opened, and her powers came flooding in. From her stomach, first, then spreading up all over her body, a bright white light shone and engulfed her as what was to come to pass finally arrived.

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Now why would I do something as mean as kill off Connor after all the work I did with his character/grins/

Review please!

Night's Darkness


	20. Balancing Act

Here we go... hope you like it:-)

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**Balance chp 20: Balancing Act**

Angel waited for Connor to stand, to move, but he didn't. Neither did Calista who lay in the centre of the dome. Angel could see them but they didn't get up. In a state of panic he flung himself at the dome that was pulsing slightly. He was thrown back so hard that he went flying, crashing right into Spike, who let out a string of curses. The two landed in a heap. Angel kicked Spike away, and got to his feet. Suddenly the light of the dome increase and they had to shield her eyes.

"What's happening?" shouted Kennedy.

"Show time!" answered Buffy. The dome exploded, sending a wave of energy that sent them all flying. The light became too bright even with closed eyes and seemed to engulf the whole world. Angel raised his head a bit disconcerted but once the black spots disappeared from his vision, he was inevitably drawn to the glowing light above him. His jaw dropped in utter awe as he saw a most reverent and magnificent sight.

An angel, an honest to goodness angel was hovering above them. Their long shining grey hair was caught up in an unfelt breeze and they were clothed in a grey robe, tied with a black and white belt. From their back were two wings, protruding from the shoulder blades. One was white and covered with feathers, as an angel's should be. But the other… the other was black and looked more like a bats wing then anything else, or a demons wing. As the light dimmed slightly Angel realised with wonder that the angel was Calista. Her robe, at a second glance, had black markings on the back forming a scale, with a white one on the front. Calista was the Angel of Balance! She opened her eyes and looked at Cordelia with a neutral face, no emotion present. Cordelia turned and tried to run away, but Balance waved her hand in an almost bored way, and white rings appeared around her wrists and ankles, bringing her to a complete standstill. She screeched in fear and anger. Balance made a beckoning motion with her hand and Cordelia flew up into the air to be level with her. She struggled but the rings held tight, Balance had her secure.

"You have had many names." Balance spoke, her voice empty, void of all emotion. "But I will call you what you were once called, long ago, Kai' Enna."

"I liked the name Cordelia!" she pouted

"But it is not your name, it is the name of the woman whose body you have possessed, therefore I shall address you as Kai' Enna." Kai' Enna glared but remained silent. "I have been sent to stop you from upsetting the balance of this world. You are a danger to it so you must be done away with." There was no malice, nor was there compassion, in the voice, only the cold facts.

"You can't do this to me I'm a Power that Be!"

"That is of no concern to me, for I do not answer to the Powers, you should know that." Kai' Enna, began to struggle again and in frustration she screamed,

"Why not stop The First? It is even more of a danger then me!"

"The First Evil is also in danger of disrupting the balance, however, only so as long as you are here with it, two great evils in a world of one solid good. It matters not to me which of you I abolish as long as one of you is gone the balance will be restored." From her robe she drew a dagger, the very dagger Calista had taken from the hotel. Without another word she drove the dagger into the large stomach of Kai' Enna, who screamed. Balance cut upwards, slicing the belly open. From it came a… thing. No one could begin to fathom what it was. It was glowing sickly green, and it was writhing with tentacles squirming in every direction. One felt quite ill just watching it. Cordelia's body went limp and the white manacles faded from her. She then fell, Balance was in no more need of her and she could only give her attention to the thing she'd been sent to do. Spike and Angel just managed to catch her between them as they jolted themselves out of their stupor. Angel looked at Cordelia and saw that her stomach had returned to normal, not even a scar. She was also unconscious. They laid her down and then Angel saw Connor for the first time. He'd been lying on the ground unconscious since Calista became Balance. Meanwhile above, Balance caught the monster in a red bubble. The creature writhed inside it recoiling as its tentacles touched the bubble, which began to shrink. Balance was holding her hand out and was slowly bringing her fingers and her thumb together. The bubble got smaller and smaller, compressing the monster, until, as her fingers and thumb touched, it was gone. It had been literally squeeze out of existence. Balance sighed softly then without any warning, all the awing power and might vanished and Calista, back to normal, was left floating more then twenty feet above the air. She dropped like a stone. Only vampire quick reflexes on Angel and Spike's part saved her. Her head lolled to the side as she too left consciousness behind, diving into that sweet pool of oblivion.

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I know it's short but this was a chapter all on its own. It wouldn't have made sense to add more on.

Review kind readers

Night's Darkness


	21. Colours and whispers

Well here's chapter 21 at long last. Enjoy and review.

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**Balance chp 21: Colours and Whispers**

Buffy struggled to understand all that had just happened. It had all been so fast.

"Are they…?" Tears were in her eyes as she looked at Cordelia, then Connor and finally Calista.

"No, I, I think they're just unconscious." said Spike sounding shaken, as he and Angel laid Calista down on the ground. Fred and Lorne came running down from the roof via the fire escape and rushed to the group. Fred knelt down beside Connor and touched his neck, feeling his pulse. Her warm chocolate brown eyes flitted about over his injuries and she said shakily,

"What did they do to him?" Lorne put a hand on her shoulder saying,

"From the look of it Freddy bear we don't want to know."

"Tried to kill him." choked Angel, coming over, "The, The First tried to kill him in, in a box, roast him in it." Buffy saw he was falling apart as he told them. She walked up to him and hugged him tightly.

"A brazen bull." muttered Wes to Giles who nodded. Buffy pulled away from Angel and wiped a tear from his cheek, before she looked around. Four potentials were dead and the other five were badly injured, but were being helped by Dawn, and the others.

"Hey B, listen we gotta get these guys to a hospital." called Faith as she put pressure on Vi's leg to stop the bleeding of a deep cut.

"Ok, Wesley would you-." Wes was already dialling on his cell.

* * *

Angel had seen a lot of terrible things, and had been a part of more, but this was the worst for the simple reason that he was helpless. He was unable to help the most important people in his life. Buffy stood at his side offering silent support and he was grateful because he knew that without her he'd fall to pieces and probably stake himself.

"Hard to believe, all three of them in comas." said a passing doctor to a nurse, "And aside from the boy we have no idea how they were caused." Connor, his son was in a deep coma because of trauma. The injuries and the experience of torture had defeated the Destroyer, son of Angelus. There was some irony in there somewhere but Angel couldn't bring himself to care. Calista and Cordelia were also in comas, but the causes were scientifically unknown. Giles had said that, like what Skip had said, Cordelia had been drained of most of her life force, resulting in her comatose state. As for Calista most likely she'd been drained too, and finally succumbed to the pressure of it all. Buffy broke the silence between them,

"What about the babies? What did the doctor say about them?"

"He said, he said that there's a chance that the babies mightn't survive because Calista's brain isn't fully functioning, but that it would probably be safe to do a C-section if anything happened and they'd probably survive."

"Well… that's good isn't it?"

"Yeah, I mean yes it's great, just…" Angel wasn't sure what he was going to say. Buffy squeezed his shoulder and then said something about checking on the others. Angel waited for a few minutes till the last nurse left the room then limped in on his now bandaged leg and looked at his son, then at Cordelia and then at Calista. For all the world the two girls could just be sleeping, but Connor, Connor was still a mess. They'd put him on a drip but had agreed that he wouldn't need a blood transfusion, which was amazing considering the amount of injuries, but Wes said that it was better because Connor's blood could easily be different from a normal humans and it mightn't be safe. Angel sat beside his son and put his large hand over Connor's smaller one. His son had hands so like Darla's, just like he had her eyes, and her cheekbones, in fact there were many aspects of Connor that were so like his mother, including his tendency to get very jealous. But Darla had always managed to fit in wherever it pleased her and Connor, Connor never seemed to fit in anywhere. He wasn't a human, but he wasn't really a demon either. He was sort of caught in the middle, not really a part of anything. Well on second thought he was a part of something, he was a part of Angel's family, and he was a part of a very amazing race. Angel had found that despite Connacht's, at times, annoying personality, there wasn't a second where he hadn't respected him. He'd helped Angel to find his son and Angel knew he didn't have to, that he could have just stayed out of everything and left them to it but instead he'd kept trying to help them.

Maybe he could help them again! Angel jumped to his feet and kissed Connor's forehead saying,

"Don't worry, I'll be back son." And ran out of the room, saying to Giles who was coming back from the coffee machine, "Giles tell the others I'll be back soon I need to do something great thanks bye!" With that said he was gone. He got in his car and drove off towards the beach. His brain was working overtime as he tried to think of a way to make his idea work. He parked the car and got out walking to the edge of the water as it lapped at the beach. He knew it was a long shot, but he tried the simplest approach.

"Connacht! Connacht! I know you can hear me! I need your help again! Please listen to me!" he shouted out across the water, "Connor and Calista need your help, I know you can wake them up, please help us."

"Angel…" Angel jumped as the voice behind him spoke. Connacht stared at him with sad eyes, tired eyes.

"Look Connacht I know you've done more then we could have asked, but… please help them." Connacht looked away, then back up and said

"Angel… this is the last time, ok?"

"Ok, yes I understand."

"Good, now we don't have much time so call up your friends and tell them to be beside Connor and the girls, we'll transport them and you to the realm." Angel did so and then Connacht vanished. Angel paced back and forth for several minutes waiting and wondering what was taking so long. His cell phone rang and he answered it.

"Angel, Connacht needs you to stop pacing, he can't cast the spell if you're moving." Wes said dryly.

"What?" Angel didn't get an answer because there was a flash of light and Angel found himself in the glorious realm of the Children of Vampires. The others were beside him, except for Dawn, Robin, Andrew and Faith who'd stayed with the potentials, another two were dead now. Connor, Cordelia and Calista lay on three pedestals, in the centre of a circle of Connacht's people. Angel and the others stood outside it. Calida walked out to the three and drew a symbol on each forehead and heart, whispering something softly as she did. She then walked away to the people standing waiting in a circle. She touched the forehead and heart of each person, travelling around in the complete circle before she reached Connacht. The two shared a strange look, as if having a silent argument, before she sighed and touched his brow and heart. She then did the same to herself, looking like she was blessing herself. She stepped back to be part of the circle and, as one, the congregation of spirits joined hands.

Connacht began to whisper something in a long forgotten language, one which made the hairs on the back of the Scoobies and A.I.'s necks stand on end and yet made their bellies feel warm like they'd eaten a large, hot meal. Calida began to speak along with Connacht yet they still spoke at a whisper and even as each person joined, going right around the circle, the volume never went above a loud whisper. It was different from the last spell they'd seen the Children of Vampires perform, that had been passionate and full of strength. This one was soft and gentle, coaxing Connor, Calista and Cordelia to come back from oblivion, and it was kissing away the injuries, healing cuts with sweet caresses. A sweet smell tingled the noses of the watchers, soothing their souls, restoring their energy. The Children of Vampires let go of each other and each held out their right hand, palm up, towards the three lying still on the pedestal. From them a soft blue light emerged and floated to engulf Connor, Cordelia, and Calista. The light, hazy, almost smoky, then changed to a gentle red, then to yellow. Then it changed to indigo, but Cordelia continued to glow yellow, blue, and red. The indigo only went to Calista and Connor. Then it became violet but still didn't touch Cordelia, only the other two. The colours swirled around each body, each defined, un-mixing, slowly being absorbed into the body, causing the skin to glow the respective colour for a moment. The Children of Vampires then, again as one, turned their hands so the back was facing up and Connacht whispered a new word, then slowly they dropped their arms and let out a collective sigh. Connacht pushed his hair out of his eyes then they locked with Calida's but neither said anything.

Angel approached the circle and the people moved to let him pass. He looked at Connor in utter amazement, every single wound was gone from his face, and he was willing to bet everywhere else too. Yet Connor didn't open his eyes, he just lay still, the only sign of life being the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Calista didn't stir either, she just lay there, her hair splayed around her head like a golden halo. The perfect image of a sleeping angel. Cordelia however stirred softly and her eyes flickered open. She looked around in confusion.

"Cordelia?" called Angel softly. She turned her head slightly to look at him and her big brown eyes widened.

"Angel?" she whispered, almost frightened.

"Hey Cordy, yeah it's me." Cordelia propped herself up on her elbows, her face a picture of confusion.

"Where, where am I?"

"It's a long story, but you're safe. Do you remember anything?" Cordelia's face wrinkled in thought then her eyes widened and filled with tears.

"Oh God!" she gasped and she looked to her right where Connor lay, to Calista on her left. She sat up fully and seemed to go into silent shock. Buffy came up behind them.

"Cordelia?" she asked searching her face. Cordelia looked at her.

"Buffy?"

"Howdy, long time no see."

"I remember." stated Cordelia.

"You remember that we haven't seen each other in a long time?"

"No I, I remember what that thing did. How she hurt so many, killed so many. Oh God!" The tears fell down her cheeks and Angel held her as she cried into his chest. Buffy came closer and rubbed her back soothingly. Fred and the others came up and she stood beside Connor, her sad eyes looking at Cordelia. Her hand covered Connor's. Cordelia pulled away from both of them and said,

"I'm ok, I'm fine. It wasn't me who did those things, wasn't me." she said it like a mantra as if to convince herself.

"That's right, it wasn't you Cordelia." said Wesley, "No one blames you Cordy." She nodded biting her lip softly. She wiped her face then looked at Connor and Calista,

"Why haven't they woken up?" she asked looking at Connacht.

"Well they're healing is different from yours." explained Calida. "You only needed some calming of the soul and some stimulation of the body and some energy to wake you up. They needed that and they needed some spiritual unfoldment to help them understand themselves and they needed to have the need to learn from what has happened, to understand it, not run from it."

"I'm a little confused, what does that have to do with them not waking up?" asked Fred

"Well it-"

"See Cordelia needed to be with you, that's how she will heal. Now Connor and Calista need you too, we're not saying they won't, just that they need some rest first, they'll wake up soon don't worry." said Connacht over Calida. Calida stepped forward and said,

"There's something else." Connacht shot her a sharp look which she returned with a glare, then she looked back and said, "We people cannot be around much longer, our magic is running out, we'll be gone forever soon. But there's so much, so much knowledge that we don't want to be lost from this world. So we…" she swallowed as if afraid of them.

"What? What did you do?" asked Angel suspiciously.

"We gave Connor and Calista all our knowledge. I also gave Calista my memories, and Connacht gave Connor his. It may seem selfish, we know they need this."

"So what they're gonna wake up and have all the knowledge of you guys in their heads?"

"Not exactly, that's one of the reasons that they won't wake for a while. See, Connor will wake up first and the knowledge will be already mostly sorted in his brain, but he'll be quite confused, so you have to be careful."

"And Calista?"

"Calista, we did something different for her. She's been through something amazing and horrifying. In allowing herself to become the Angel of Balance, she was open to all the good of this world but also to all the evil. That will have been like nothing she's ever experienced, like anyone's ever experience. So all this knowledge will be too much, the very memory will be too much for her in her condition, so," Calida took a deep breath, "We've set her mind to be almost set at a time release, when she wakes up, she won't remember what's happened and all bad memories will be… well she won't be able to access them if you will. It may seem like she's in a daze. After the babies are born, she'll begin to remember things, slowly, each day as she wakes she'll remember more, in as gentle a way as we can make it, easing her back into everything, all you have to do is take care of her." Connacht was giving Calida an annoyed look but she was ignoring him. Clearly they'd had an argument. Angel walked around the pedestal so he was standing beside Calista. He reached out and stroked the top of her head. She sighed softly and her breathing deepened and he heard her heart beat slow slightly as she relaxed even more at his touch. Connacht spoke softly to him.

"We've done everything that we can for them, so its time for you to leave." Angel looked at him,

"Thank you." He spoke with as much gratitude as he could. He knew that this would be the last time he ever saw them. He was sad at that, and wished Connor and Calista could say proper goodbyes to them.

"Yes thank you so much, I didn't deserve your help." Cordelia said.

"Hey everyone deserves a second chance… or third… or fourth… or fifth if you're me!" grinned Connacht.

"Wait before we leave I need to ask you something." said Wesley suddenly.

"Sure shoot!"

"The day after Calista arrived, she was injured by a Bringer, and somehow at the same time Connor… well he glowed and-" Connacht held up a hand to silence him.

"And you wanted to know if that was us." Wesley nodded, "Well I can say with all honesty, nope, wasn't us."

"Then how?"

"Because, like we've been saying soul mates are very special and in our kind if one of the pair is near death the other is compelled to reach them as fast as possible. Therefore since Connor obviously couldn't leave in the middle of a fight he was able to reach some of his power and get rid of them. Of course he had no clue before but now with our information he'll understand." They nodded and again thanked them.

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Like it? Hate it? Feel that was too easy? Worry not, it won't be.

Night's Darkness


	22. The barriers begin to fall

Sorry about the delay, between transition year and my dismal score in English in the JCI haven't been writing much at all. I'm trying to get on track again.

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**Balance chp 22: The barriers begin to fall**

Connacht waved at them and they were gone. Calida walked past him deliberately banging his shoulder with hers.

"You are unbelievable!" she hissed in his ear and she stormed off. Connacht groaned to himself, he looked around but everyone looked away in shame, they were ashamed of him. He knew the cause but he didn't understand why they were upset about it. He turned around and hurried after Calida. But he only caught up with her once she'd reached their private chambers. She stood with her back to him, her shoulders tense and her arms folded across her chest. He walked over to the bed and lay down on it staring up at the ceiling. When she was ready she'd talk. He'd learned the meaning of patience with Calida. Hell it'd taken him three hundred years of none stop persistence to get her to admit she loved him. His eyes wandered to her, travelling up and down her body, he still thought she was gorgeous and he still felt honoured that she was his. Nevertheless this wasn't going to be fun. She was very angry with him, he knew it. She whirled around and raged,

"How can you, the leader, be so selfish and uncaring!"

"What?" he asked sitting up sharply.

"You, you don't care about anyone do you, except yourself of course!"

"Hang on-"

"It's always been the same, whatever Connacht wants, Connacht gets!" He stood up, now he was angry too.

"That is not fair!" he shouted angrily

"Oh really? Can you honestly deny that we always do what you want? You wanted to help the humans, you wanted to keep Connor and Calista from healing completely so our power wouldn't be gone."

"Because I'm trying to keep us alive!"

"But we're not alive Connacht, we're dead! We have been for centuries, why can't you just accept that?" Connacht turned and started to walk away but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back so sharply that he tripped and fell, landing back on the bed. "No, you're not getting away this time! You have to answer me, tell me why you won't let go. Tell me why you refuse to let our people move on, why you hurt us by holding us here." Connacht jumped to his feet and grabbed her arms, pulling their faces close, so their noses were almost touching. He glared furiously at her, and hissed dangerously,

"You don't have a clue what I'm doing, I have to make decisions, people need leaders, you know that. I can't let go yet for the simple factor that it's too risky, we don't know what'll happen how far apart we'll be spread. That's why I've been fighting it, I'm keeping everyone together." He shook her sharply, "Don't you see that that's what I'm trying to do?" She stared at him, her eyes angry, defiant, yet caring. She touched his chest gently and whispered,

"You don't know what will happen to us Connacht, we could all be together, happy… free. Let go Connacht, you can't always be in control." Connacht felt tears coming in his eyes and rolling down his cheeks, he was scared, he'd admit it. He was scared of not having control. He'd lived his childhood with his life controlled by his parents, his parents whom he killed. He had fought for control, and he couldn't just let it go. Calida gently brushed away the tears and kissed him softly, her anger gone. She was stubborn but anger just never had a place in her. She'd said it was like it was only there by accident and something was pulling it out of her almost straight away. She whispered into his lips,

"Please, make the pain stop." He choked on a sob and held her close, burying his face in her hair. She held him tight, rocking slightly. He muttered into her neck,

"I'll try to let go, but… not yet." She pulled away to look at him in utter confusion. He wiped his face and put on the 'I-know-something-you-don't-know' cocky grin, the one that annoyed people no end. "We're not quite done yet." He tapped her nose and promised, "One last thing, and that's it, I swear."

"I'll hold you to that." She smiled weakly at him. He just grinned, this was going to be interesting.

* * *

Buffy sighed softly as she walked along the corridor of the first floor. She was too stirred up to sleep. Too many questions, so few answers. She sauntered towards the lobby, slowing as she heard voices.

"Angel I, um…" that was Cordelia.

"Cordy, if you're going to say sorry or anything like it then don't, this was never your fault." Angel's voice was tender, like the way he used to talk to her when they were dating. Buffy couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

"Wasn't it? I mean I made all the choices, I chose to become part demon, I chose to ascend, how isn't it my fault?"

"Because you were manipulated by that thing, tricked and twisted into doing those things."

"I remember everything that she did while inside me, how she manipulated everyone, especially Connor. God it was so awful, she preyed on his fear and loneliness, used his need for… something real to make him do what she wanted."

"Until Calista showed up." Angel was smiling, Buffy knew it even though she couldn't see him.

"Oh man Calista. The hatred of that thing for that poor girl was unreal, and what's weirder was that she was jealous of her because she had Connor."

"What?"

"Yeah, I guess it was because she knew she could never get him to do the things she needed without a lot of work, but Connor would do anything for Calista and she was jealous of that. Oh god it's just so horrible to remember it and know it really happened, it felt like a nightmare!"

"Cordy…"

"No, I know, give it time, it'll get better, but Angel, right now it's so painful and to know that you…" Cordelia didn't finish.

"That I what?"

"That you really don't love me… that I don't really love you and yet I do. This makes no sense!"

"Cordy, I do love you." Buffy's heart sank, "You are my best friend, and you've always been there, but you and I are not soul mates. Those feelings were caused by manipulation. I was thinking about this for ages, and it does make sense in the end, just give it time."

"Buffy's still the slayer of your heart huh?"

"…Yes, but I don't know how she feels about me."

"Oh please Angel! She's still in love with you! Even Wesley could see that and he's not a guy who's good at seeing love and even worse at acting on it, point in case, Fred."

"Still…"

"Angel!"

"Ok, ok, I'll talk to her." Angel chuckled and said, "I've missed you Cordy."

"Back at ya big guy!" Buffy turned away and walked back to her room. She'd been trying to figure Angel's feelings out but know that she knew she didn't want to talk to him. She did love him, but she was fairly sure she loved Spike, no scratch that, she did love Spike. Oh God what the hell was she going to do?

* * *

Angel bid Cordy goodnight at her bedroom door and then proceeded to Connor's room. No! Connor and Calista's room. He entered quietly, and stopped short in surprise.

"Don't worry I've no ill meanings to them if that's what you're thinking, peaches." Spike shrugged, "I just figured I'd keep these two company while you and the cheerleader were practising your cheers and making sure your skirts matched your pom-poms." He was fiddling with a packet of cigarettes but hadn't lit one. Good thing too, 'cause if Angel had caught him smoking near Calista he'd stake him faster then he could say 'hell'. Connor hadn't woken up yet and Angel guessed he wouldn't for a good while. It had only been six hours since they'd arrived in the hotel. Buffy had called the hospital and told Dawn that they were back. That call had had a startling revelation. They'd been gone for almost two hours, but they couldn't believe it since the whole thing had only seemed to last at best a half hour. Angel sighed and sat down on the side of the bed beside Calista. He slowly raised his hand and rested it on her belly. He felt a very powerful kick and smiled tenderly.

"Oh bloody hell, if you're gonna get all sappy and that then I'll leave ya to it. Night peaches."

"Night Spike." Angel chuckled and closed his eyes, listening carefully to the four heartbeats in the room.

* * *

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Night's Darkness


	23. Return of new beginnings

**Balance chp 23: Return of the new beginning**

Fred hummed as she mixed up some hot chocolate for herself and Willow. The two of them had woken up before anyone else and were chatting in the lobby. Fred had offered to get them both some breakfast. The toaster popped and she pulled out the Pop Tarts. She quickly dropped them onto the plate and brought out the 'food' and drink. Willow smiled as she looked up from the book she was reading.

"Thanks Fred."

"No problem Willow, what are you reading?"

"Oh just a book on possession that Wesley had. I just thought reading up on it might be useful in helping Cordy get through this."

"That's a good idea. I can't imagine what it was like for her, she must have felt so helpless."

"Yeah…" Willow sighed as if thinking about something big.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh just… I guess I'm thinking that in a weird way… Cordy was lucky." At Fred's incredulous look she quickly explained, "I, I mean she will eventually accept that it wasn't her, she had no choice in the matter… unlike me."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well…" Willow was nervous, she didn't want to upset Fred or risk loosing her as a friend, "See last year I, um… I was addicted to magic and when my girlfriend Tara was killed I went a little loopy." Fred looked surprised for a moment then said,

"Well… I'm sure everyone goes a bit nuts when they loose someone important to them. Just how loopy did you go?"

"Uh, ultimate evil, tried to destroy the world kinda loopy."

"Oh!" Fred said in shock. Willow sipped some hot chocolate and in an attempt to distract the other woman said cheerfully,

"Mm, wow, Fred this hot chocolate is yummy, you could open up your own café and everyone would flock to it for Fred's secret hot chocolate delight!" she smiled brightly at her and Fred blushed slightly at the praise. They sat in an awkward silence while both sipped their drinks and ate their Pop Tarts. Then Fred asked nervously,

"Do you mind if I ask what stopped the world from being destroyed?" Willow smiled softly and said quietly,

"Yellow crayons." Fred frowned slightly in confusion but said nothing about the vague answer.

"So you really think I could open a cafe?"

"Yeah, hey, I have a recipe for cookies that would go great with it, and, and you could have a library upstairs and places to sit so people could read and drink chocolaty goodness and enjoy themselves." The two giggled.

"We are cheerful this morning aren't we?" called Xander as he and Gunn came down the stairs.

"Well I can't say I blame them." Gunn grinned, "I mean Cordy's back, and very soon I'd say there'll be two babies for them to coo over!"

"Plus we checked the news and the whole city's quiet."

"Did they have an excuse for the whole light show of Calista's?"

"Yeah, a meteor shower." Fred rolled her eyes smiling at the gullibility of unaware people.

"Ah to be that naïve!" sighed Xander as he sat down beside Willow. "I forgot what that's like."

"Well you make up for it with your jokes Xander." Xander smiled then frowned, unsure if he'd been insulted or not. Fred smiled at him then said,

"Hey you know what?"

"No!"

"We should do something for Calista like have a party or something."  
"Like a baby shower?"

"Yeah."

"Let's see what Angel thinks when he comes down."

"He probably won't come down until Connor wakes up. He's probably hungry, I'll bring him up some blood." Fred went and got the blood and brought it upstairs. As predicted Angel was in Connor and Calista's room sitting in a chair drawing something in a sketch book. He looked up at Fred as she came in.

"Hey Fred."

"Morning Angel, I thought you might be hungry, and we all know you're not gonna budge so here." She handed him the glass. He set down the pad and took the glass and sipped at it. She looked at the pad and her eyes widened as she saw what Angel had drawn. "Wow, that's amazing Angel."

"Thanks I didn't have anything else to do so…"

"Um can I borrow that?" she asked as an idea sparked in her head.

"Sure." He passed it to her looking a little bewildered. She smiled at him and then hurried out to the lobby and said loudly

"Guys I just had an idea!" and she held up the pad. The others looked it over and grinned.

"Great idea Fred."

"We'd better get started this'll take a while."

* * *

Three days passed and the gang's project was nearly complete with everybody (including the three Potentials that had survived the night after the fight) helping to organise it. Angel was worried because neither Connor nor Calista had showed any sign of waking up. Although concerned this was appreciated by the others because it gave them plenty of time to work and not be caught by either of the two. It was the third night and everyone was eating dinner, exhausted by their work. They'd ordered out and were eating pizza, potato wedges and chips.

"Mm, sweet artery hardening goodness!" said Buffy as she finished off her third slice of pizza.

"I'm gonna feel so guilty after eating this but I don't care!" declared Cordelia as she chomped up some more chips.

"This is fun, everyone just sitting around eating fast food and chatting." said Dawn smiling.

"It'd be perfect if the party was complete." said Lorne.

"Connor!" said Angel

"Yeah and Calista of course."

"Uh Lorne." Gunn said softly looking behind the demon. Said demon turned around and he saw why everyone had gone silent. Connor was standing on the stairs looking a little confused. His eyes narrowed and he asked, his voice a bit raspy from lack of use,

"Dad? What's going on?" He seemed unsteady on his feet. Angel walked over to him and said

"Son, thank God I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever wake up." The relief in his voice was evident and it seemed to make Connor relax.

"Yeah I woke up, but Calista won't, why not?"

"Maybe you should sit down, you haven't been on your feet for a few day."

"Why won't you just tell me what's going on." Connor sounded panicked now.

"Ok, ok look, what's the last thing that you remember?"

"Being with Calista and… realising that the babies weren't dead… that the spell had just cut them off from her. Then… nothing." He shook his head, "There's nothing after that."

"That's alright, listen Connor whatever happened between you two caused Calista to gain her full powers. She became… an angel. The angel of balance."

"What?"

"Believe me I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. She became the embodiment of balance, neutrality. With its powers she stopped the monster controlling Cordelia." Cordelia flinched in remembrance and Connor's eyes flicked to her.

"So you're back to normal?" he asked.

"Yes I am, and Connor I am so sorry for what she did, I tried to stop her but I just…"

"'S ok Cordy, I understand."

"You do?"

"Yeah a heck of a lot better then I thought I would." His forehead creased in confusion at his own words.

"Connor how do you feel?"

"Like my brains stuffed."

"I'm sure that's normal after what happened."

"WHAT HAPPENED!" bellowed Connor in frustration.

"Look you and Cordelia and Calista were all in comas so I asked Connacht and Calida to heal you and they did but they also passed on all their memories and knowledge to you. You have all the information of the ancient world inside your head Connor." Connor paled and he stood up and paced slowly, not saying anything for a moment.

"Can you get rid of it?" he asked shakily.

"Connor why would you want to get rid of it?"

"Because I'm here, and at the same time I'm somewhere else, I, I can see demons and monsters all around me and, and- I can't breath." Connor began hyperventilating and they rushed to calm him down. Once he was breathing normally again he demanded to know what was wrong with Calista, so they told him what they knew.

"So she won't remember anything?"

"Not exactly, from what we figured, she'll be in a kind of daze and just not be able to think about anything bad. It's to keep her stress free during the last few weeks of the pregnancy. After that she'll slowly begin to remember everything."

"Oh." was all Connor said. His stomach growled loudly and in spite of himself he blushed. They smiled and gave him a hamburger and fries. Then Dawn asked him a question.

"Has Calista told you if the babies are boys or girls?"

"Uh no, she said we'll find out when we go to her next examination, that was a few days ago."

"Oh, well have you thought of any names?" Connor paled slightly then shook his head.

"Well if one of them's a boy, call him William after his cousin." grinned Spike. Connor stared at him strangely.

"Cousin?"

"Yeah, see I figured, if you think about it, Drusilla was Angelus' daughter, and that would make me her son and Angelus' grandson, since you're Angel's kid that means that technically you and Dru are brother and sister, which makes me your nephew and makes your kids my cousins."

"And that makes one big weird happy vampire family." crowed Xander with his mouth full. Connor stared at them and then laughed. The sound made Angel smile, when was the last time he'd heard Connor laugh like that? Once he finished eating Connor went upstairs to watch over Calista. Willow watched him go, her eyes narrowed slightly and then said

"Does anyone else think he took that a little too well?"

"A little, but maybe Connacht's memories help reassure him." suggested Fred.

"Yes from what I've read, having another person's memories inside your own head can often cause slight changes in personality, at least for a while." said Giles reassuringly. Wesley nodded in agreement.

* * *

Connor sighed softly as he sat down. Despite the fact that he'd spent three days asleep, he felt very sleepy and… woolly or something akin to it. His head felt like it was about to explode from all the knowledge he had in it. He kept being pulled into memories that weren't his own. He felt Connacht's emotions too. He felt the love he had for his people, his hatred for demons and especially vampires and his anger at the Powers that Be. Connor was also having difficulty separating his own love for Calista from Connacht's love for Calida. He knew well now that despite the near identical appearance of the two that they were very different people and it was really driving him mad as he tried to separate the two feelings. Angel had said it would take a few days for him to separate he own thoughts from Connacht's but he wished it would hurry up because it was very distressing. He was also very frightened by the intensity of the emotions Connacht held for his parents. He hated them. They were the core of his hatred. The depth of hatred for them was more then Connor could have believed, even he'd never felt that level of intensity about Angel. Yet, at the exact same time Connacht had loved them, in a strange way, and he'd respected them… for a time. They'd lost his respect when he'd turned sixteen and they'd brutally murdered another child of vampires. They'd done it to maintain their power over their offspring, Connor saw that but the story was much more then that, and Connor hoped he could understand it soon. He sighed and rubbed his forehead tiredly. He looked at Calista, he'd rolled her over onto her side when he'd come back in so when she did wake up her back wouldn't be sore. He rested his hand on her stomach, caressing it gently, wondering. Wondering if, like they'd wanted, the babies would have Calista's hair and his own eyes, even though he still wasn't sure he wanted that. He looked at Calista's face and stroked it softly, her skin felt so soft under his fingertips. They moved to her hair and he touched its silky smooth strands. She stirred slightly, and he held his breath, but she didn't wake up. He yawned broadly and knew he wasn't going to stay awake much longer, so he walked to the foot of the bed and crawled onto it, lying on his side, wrapping his arm around her large waist and closed his eyes, her scent soothing him to sleep.

* * *

Review please

Night's Darkness


	24. Embracing

**Balance chp 24: Embracing**

Connor woke up the next morning and for several minutes he had no idea where he was. He sat up and looked around wildly. He did a quick mental check,

'Ok, no idea where I am, only person here, Calida, and- wait! Since when is Calida pregnant?' He frowned in utter confusion then his face cleared, he was in his own bedroom, and Calista was the one lying beside him and he was Connor, not Connacht.

"Oh God help me." he whispered, tears pooling into his eyes and he cried into Calista's shoulder, feeling terrified. He felt like he was being transformed into someone he didn't want to be. Connacht wasn't evil, he wasn't malicious, but he wasn't perfect and having his thoughts, his feelings taking over him was very overwhelming and frightening. He felt like he was being engulfed by a much larger being, a monster and he couldn't escape.

'_You have to go with it Connor.'_ Connacht's voice echoed in his head. Connor froze and whispered

"I don't want to be lost in you."

'_You won't be, you only feel that way because you're fighting it.'_

"I'm scared."

'_Of what? Of me knowing everything about you? Connor… I'm dead! It doesn't matter either way. Besides no one is perfect.' _

"I know that, but you're so… it's all so overwhelming, I don't know what to do."

'_Stop fighting this, if you do it'll be so much easier for both of us._'

"I wish I knew how to stop fighting." Connor admitted to himself.

'_You'll learn eventually. Now let me in.'_ Connacht's voice was gentle, not insistent. Connor closed his eyes and he leaned over to kiss Calista's cheek.

"Ok." He let Connacht in, he embraced this new part of himself tightly, knowing he'd never let go.

* * *

Angel found him slumped over Calista, in a daze. He touched his shoulder and Connor awoke sharply, he punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground, he then grabbed a stake from under the bed and jumped atop Angel, raising the stake with the intent of killing him.

"Connor!" Angel shouted grabbing his wrist. Connor froze, and blinked. His eyes cleared and he pulled sharply back.

"Oh God. You, you scared me."

"Yeah well you scared me… twice." Angel retorted as he sat up. "Since when did you become so reactive?"

"Since… three hours ago."

"Come again?"

"It's done, I've got everything in my head properly."

"Oh, mind if I ask what it's like?" Angel couldn't help but be curious.

"Kinda crowded, lots of demon knowledge and magic spells… mostly stuff Wesley Giles and Willow wil like. There's also some strange memories which I will never describe." Connor swallowed a laugh. Angel smiled. He looked at Calista,

"Still no waking?"

"No not yet." Connor looked away slightly and gained a far away look, "But according to what Connacht told me before he left, sometime tomorrow at the latest."

"Ok, good. You hungry?"

"Starving." They walked out of the room and Connor asked a question, "Dad, why does the hotel reek of paint?" Angel inwardly panicked, then said as calmly as he could,

"Oh you know, the bringers made a mess downstairs and we just fixed it up a bit, and the fumes get everywhere."

"Right." Connor bought it, at least Angel prayed he did. They walked down to the lobby and Connor headed straight for the kitchen, ignoring the others greetings. They looked annoyed or confused at his behaviour. Connor came back in, an apple in hand.

"Sorry." he said, "But thanks to Connacht I have a massive craving for apples." They all nodded then looked at Angel slightly worried. Angel gave them a reassuring smile. Connor sat beside Dawn and bit down on the fruit.

"So Connor, what's it like having, probably the worlds most knowledgeable man's memories and knowledge in your head?" asked Xander leaning forward curiously,

"Like I told dad, it's a little crowded, but most of its interesting facts about magic and demons and cults and general world history, Connacht was very up-to-date, he knew everything, from the names of different old ones to stem cell research."

"Fascinating…" Xander didn't sound very fascinated, "so you probably have all those little beginning prophesies the Vampire kids created in there somewhere too." Connor lost the small smile on his face and his features darkened,

"If I do I'm not telling you about any of them, at least not ones that haven't come to pass yet."

"Why not?" asked Dawn

"Yeah I mean if we know about things before they happen then-"

"I can't!" Connor exclaimed sharply, "I can't predict the future, if you want someone who can then call a psychic, the beginnings don't work that way and any interference by me, even if I just tell you, could ruin it, and I won't allow it!" Angel was taken aback by the passion in his voice. "If I caused one to go wrong, hell if I caused one to activate at the wrong time it could mean ruin for this world, the beginnings are to help bring good into the world to combat the creatures that bring the evil, but they are out of my hands, they are bigger then me, they were bigger then the Children of The Vampires can't you see that?"

"If they were bigger then them why were they able to do them?"

"Because the being or beings that allowed them to be created by the Children of The Vampires because it/they wanted it done from a mortal perspective."

"I thought the Children of The Vampires were immortal."

"They were but I mean that they saw things in the same way as humans would, that's why they were allowed to create the beginnings. Once they were created they could not be interfered with." Connor sighed, then he said softly, "Look I don't want to have a fight about this, I mean it's all over for now, can't we just leave it be for now and enjoy the break?"

"Yeah, sure, we, uh, we just need to unwind a little, take a breather." said Angel coming up behind Connor and squeezing his shoulder encouragingly. They nodded and Connor relaxed.

"Can I just ask what happened that night, I mean what caused Calista to become Balance?" asked Fred nervously. Connor narrowed his eyes in thought.

"Well in order to be able to accept the powers of Balance Calista needed to be in perfect balance herself. Her soul was weighted down by too much negativity, she felt like everything rested on her shoulders, and that set her off balance. In order to bring forth the power I had to share the power with her, I was the one who unlocked it for her. The only way to do that was to make her realise that in the same way she will do anything for me I will do anything for her. I had to make her realise that we are equal in the weight we share in our lives together. She didn't need to bear it alone. That's the thing about soul mates; everything is shared between them. It doesn't matter what it is, everything is shared. Soul mates balance each other out." Connor's eyes moved to the stairs up to the corridor, he was obviously looking for Calista.

"That is so sweet." sighed Cordelia smiling, she nearly had tears in her eyes. Willow stuck her lower lip out slightly, in an 'aww' way, and she squeezed Kennedy's hand. Connor realised he was being stared at and he blushed.

"You'd out serenade Sireno kid." laughed Spike.

"My nose isn't that big!" Connor smirked at him. Apparently he hadn't been kidding when he'd said Connacht was up to date. The day passed lazily, everyone just sat around reading or drawing or watching t.v. or chatting about shopping (Cordelia and Dawn). Connor stayed with Calista. When evening came he was putting a book down that he'd just finished reading, when he saw a bag in the corner of the room. It was Calista's the one she'd brought with her the day she came back into his life. He hadn't looked in it because he hadn't really thought about it. Now he did. He found a lot of things in it. Calista had unpacked the few clothes she'd had already. In the bag were papers giving details about check ups, comments on the babies progress, recommendations for diet changes. In one envelope he found images that at first made him frown in confusion because he didn't have a clue what they were meant to be, then he realised that they were pictures of the babies. Calista had told him about the machine that showed the babies image, but it must have slipped her mind that she had copies. He smiled tenderly at the images then set them aside to show his dad later. He found three books on pregnancy, childbirth and raising children. He made a mental note to read them carefully, then remembered how Connacht knew all that stuff by heart. He'd always intended on having children with Calida, but fate wasn't so kind. There was a little money, but not much, in a side pocket. The only other thing in the bag were five notepads.

Each had a different cover, one had a shimmering holographic cover, which changed colours as he picked it up. One was a black leather bound book, another was a copy book, the fourth had pink and white flower design and the fifth had a rainbow cover. Scattered in the bottom were several pens, two were broken. Connor opened the first one and saw the first page was covered in shaky, unpractised handwriting. Every page was covered in this writing although it seemed to improve with each new page. It was a diary, Calista had kept a diary, five of them actually, it seemed. He guessed the shimmering one was the first one she'd bought, she would have been fascinated by the colours. He debated whether or not to read it, after all Fred had told him diaries were very private things where people could write their deepest feelings and innermost thoughts. But he knew Calista, he knew what her feelings were, and what her thoughts were, didn't he? He decided to start reading and if he wanted he would stop. He walked back over to the chair he'd been sitting in, then changed his mind and sat on the bed against the headboard. As if sensing him Calista rolled over and snuggled against him. He smiled down at her, her touch sending tingles up his spine. He settled into the bed and opened the diary.

* * *

_I am not really sure what I am meant to do with this, Daniel said I should rite in this about what I do day by day. He says it will be good for me. I suppose if I do then when I rejoin Steven and Daniel I will be able to tell them everything. I am sitting in a green place I think it is called a park. The trees hear are much bigger then anything I have ever seen. There is an old gentleman sitting on a chair mumbling to himself. He worries me, his smell not as bad as anything in Qour-toth is strong and repels me. I fear him he may be nothing more then a madman, like the ones Daniel spoke of or he may be a demon of some kind. I fear for my safety to be near him but being near him seems to repel others and for that I am thankful. I have not been in this world three days and already I am disturbed by the way many people whisper about me or shout at me. They shout rude things at me for the mere fact that I am with child. It is upsetting I cannot deny it however I don't care. I love my son or daughter and I refuse to let harsh words get the better of me. I found a place called a soup kitchen and they have food it is good better then falciona. I have seen no other girl with child yet I hope to soon though I'd like to ask her questions about my childs care. The child has kicked seven times today a glorious feeling for me. I feel alone in a place full of humans servants of God almighty. The irony of it. I miss Steven bitterly especially his eyes as they turn to me in joy. They have a light all their own a power beneath the surface. My Steven. Eyes that I wish would just appear before me and arms I would dearly love to encircle me. I am frightened by this loud cold world.

* * *

_

Connor was astonished, Calista sounded so frightened in her writing, it was like someone else had written the words. His Calista was bright and strong, not small and weak. He flipped through the pages then paused at one where the writing became incredibly shaky, as if she'd been barely able to hold the pen.

* * *

_Oh Lord Almighty forgive me. Forgive me for my sins. I have committed a terrible crime one that I can never undo. I have committed the sin of murder. Not a vampire I should be so fortunate. No I murdered three humans. Men they were evil men. But they were human servants of God. I went to what they call a club mostly just to spend a few hours before I returned to the shelter. The three of them clad in the tasteful clothes of the wealthy so it seemed. They spoke to me asked me questions about my pregnancy about Steven about me. I told them lies about most of it another sin to add. I told them the same story I told everyone else. I was from Los Angelus my parents were dead before I became with child in a fire and Steven my boyfriend took advantage of me after the funeral. That is how I am now with child. I loath lying about Steven but it seems to work in helping me get food and a bed for the night. Anyway they offered to walk me back to the shelter and led me down an alleyway. I should have been much more aware and much less naïve. Two of them grabbed my arms suddenly and pushed me against the wall. The third kissed me on the lips. I kicked him and he pulled away only to slap me across the face. I think I whimpered in fear. I managed to wrench free of the other two and tried to run but one grabbed me and flung me to the ground. I managed to not land on my stomach which could have ended my childs life. I remember screaming and then feeling great fury at the monsters who endangered my childs life. _(here the writing became almost unreadable)_ I don't remember what happened next but the next thing I knew all three were dead and I was covered in blood. Rain began to fall and wash away the blood. I ran from the alley scared to death. I stayed out in the rain for hours freezing cold and shivering. I wanted Steven to appear like evil black magic and hug me tell me it was alright but its not. I have killed I have sinned. If I wasn't damned before I am now. Despite my demonic origins I fear hell and all those who reside within. God forgive me I promise I only meant to protect my child as any mother would have done.

* * *

_

Connor stopped and looked down at Calista tears pouring down his cheeks. He'd never done anything so hard as read this entry. Calista, while maybe not a pure innocent, Connor himself had seen to that, had had a naivety about her throughout their lives. To know that she had done that was awful. The worst was that he should have been there, he should have been able to protect her as any lover should. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat but it was very painful. He set the diary down, he couldn't read anymore, at least for now. He wrapped his arms around her protectively and buried his face in her hair and wept agonizingly. He wished so hard he could turn back time or better, rewrite history, change things. Let him grow up with his father, let him meet Calista and love her, let them spend years together, let them get married, then let her become pregnant with the babies. That would have been perfect. He couldn't do that though, oh he knew how to do it but he couldn't do it, he couldn't take away the accomplishments of everyone, of Calista's realisation of her strength, of the understanding between his father and him… nothing could be changed because of what was gained from it. He felt her stir, but didn't think on it, until a small soft hand reached up and brushed his face. He pulled away and looked down. Bright blue eyes looked at him curiously, and full red lips curved into a sweet innocent smile. The hand brushed his tears away and rested against his neck. He stared at her in shock then hugged her tightly, happiness overwhelming him. The soft arms encircled him and she rested her head on his shoulder. He clutched her tightly till she pulled away, her face a mixture of curiosity and calmness.

"Why are you crying?" she whispered, touching his face again.

"Because I have you." he breathed, touching her cheek to make sure she was real. She giggled,

"Who else would?"

"Every guy who sees you would want you."

"But none of them would have me, I'm yours." She smiled.

"No." he shook his head. He took her hand and kissed her palm. "I am yours." He moved down so he was in a kind of bow, his arms wrapping around her middle, pressing his ear to her firm stomach. An image of submission. Her hands stroked the back of his head and his back.

"We belong to each other." she said softly. Connor shook his head,

"No I belong to you, you belong to no one." She didn't argue, his mind was set. He looked up at her and saw her eyes were slightly clouded, just like he'd expected. She was in a world where nothing bad could or had ever happened, what few good memories were available to her were all she could access. Obviously she knew names, places but anything that would upset her was unavailable. She smiled and took his chin in her hand, raising him up to kiss him. He let her lead him in the kiss, let her be in control as she pushed him onto his back. She pulled back and smiled at him, pushing some of his hair out of his eyes, and kissed him on the lips softly, then she said

"I'm going to have a shower." and clambered off the bed. She walked into the bathroom and, as she closed the door, gave him a sweet smile. He lay there feeling light-headed. He suddenly looked over at the diary again and his eyes widened.

_Calista couldn't read them now!_ If Calista read the diaries then the spell would be broken. She'd be attacked by all her bad memories. He grabbed the diary and grabbed the other four in her bag and ran to his dad's room. He knocked on the door and Angel answered it

"Calista woke up!" was the first thing he said. Angel's face lit up but then clouded as Connor pushed past him. "I need you to hide these for me for a while, Calista can't read them!"

"What are they?"

"They're diaries she kept and they are really horrible, if she reads them the spell that's keeping her away from all the bad memories will be cancelled. The shock would kill her!" Angel's eyes widened and took the books from him. He walked over to his closet and put them on the top self.

"She'll never find them." Angel promised and hugged Connor tightly then pulled back, "Now go back and be with your girlfriend like you obviously want to." Connor beamed at him now,

"Actually technically in my kind's terms she's my wife." He then left trying not to laugh at Angel's almost whimper of

"What?" He grinned to himself, then paused. He'd said, 'my kind' instead of Children of The Vampires. True they were the same… species. But this was the first time he'd thought of him and them as one and the same. It felt good to say it.

* * *

I'm working on finishing the whole story at the moment, so I don't know how long it will be till I update.

Review please!

Night's Darkness


	25. Decisions decided

As usual I took forever, but I had a massive inner debate about the AngelBuffySpike triangle issue. It'll be decided in this chapter, sorry to anyone who's disappointed, I'm sure you already know who she chooses.

* * *

**Balance chp 25: Decisions decided **

Calista stepped out of the shower grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself. She picked up a smaller one and began to dry her hair, it was now hanging past her waist, like a curtain, the water weighed it down. She needed to cut it soon. She wondered if maybe she could get it done by a professional instead of just doing it herself. She rummaged through the cabinet behind the mirror, above the sink and found a comb. She sat down on the edge of the bathtub and slowly began to comb her hair through. She felt her skin begin to tingle and tighten as the water dried on it. She took her time, once it was all untangled she began to plait it. She started at her right temple and plaited half of her hair. Then she did the same on the left side of her head. She then twisted the two plaits around the back of her head. She found a few clips and secured the plaits in place. She then took out a bottle of body lotion and smoothed it into her skin which got very dry after a shower, particularly around her elbows. Now done she stepped back into the bedroom where Connor was sitting on the bed reading a book. He looked up at her and smiled at her brightly. She returned the smile and pulled out some clean clothes and dropped the towel. Connor emitted a kind of squeak which made her look at him curiously. He was staring at her with massive eyes. She raised an eyebrow at him then turned back and continued to change into her underwear. She looked out the window and started in surprise.

"Connor, why is it so dark?"

"Hmm?" Connor sounded like he was in a slight daze. She turned back to him frowning in confusion. He shook his head slightly and said "Oh because it's night Calista."

"Night?" she exclaimed in shock, "You let me sleep all day?"

"Uh yes?" Connor shrugged, "You were really tired Calista, you needed to rest." She stuck out her lower lip in a thoughtful way and walked over to him. He set the book down as she sat on his lap. She curled one arm around his shoulders and stroked his face softly with her fingertips. He lean into the touch, his eyelids drooping slightly as he relaxed. She kissed him sweetly and he sighed in utter contentment. She looked at him and giggled

"You look like the cat that got all the cream in the world." Connor smiled and touched her belly.

"I did." he answered simply.

"Mmm, my own personal romantic poet." She teased, then she stood up again and got her night dress. She picked at it critically and "I think I'll need to get some new clothes very soon. Maybe tomorrow. I was thinking Cordy would help me, I know she's very good at fashion and nice clothes. She's a beautiful woman." Connor nodded in agreement, a strange smile coming onto his features. She yawned widely, suddenly feeling very tired. He held out his hand and, as she took it, pulled her back to the bed and scooted over so she could get in.

"Sleep, you can do whatever you want tomorrow."

"Even eat enough ice-cream for three people?" she smiled

"Even that."

"What if I decided to go out fighting vampires?"

"Erm, maybe not everything."

* * *

Buffy gripped the mug between her hands, letting it warm them. She sipped the hot chocolate slowly and her eyes glazed over as she thought. What was she going to do? Spike or Angel? Who to choose?

'_Why does this have to be so hard?' _she moaned inwardly. Why did it? Why couldn't it be simple and easy? She wanted one of the loves she carried in her heart to disappear to make it easy. One guy, one girl, love swoops in and, hey presto, they get all lovey dovey. But noooo, not for Slayer girl, oh no, she has to fall in love with two vampires and they have to love her back. Hell one got a soul for her, and another left her because they loved her so much. She sighed irritably, wishing someone else could make these decisions for her, or even better, if she had a decision making machine then things would be brilliant. She pouted, suddenly feeling very jealous of the teenage couple upstairs, **_they _**were perfect, **_they_** were in love **_they_** were together, **_they_** were having children together!

'_It's not fair!_' she mentally wailed. Then she took in a deep breath, and rationalised. On the one hand she had Spike. He was tall, handsome, and a vampire with a soul. Then there was Angel, he was tall, handsome and a vampire with a soul. Buffy was tempted to scream, they really didn't make this easy, did they? Ok, Spike had the lovely accent, and his blue eyes were sharp and cunning, when he fought he moved with a cat-like fluidity and he was devoted to her. He went and earned his soul for her for god's sake! But Angel… Angel was Angel, with his moodiness and sexy sneer, his eyes with their smouldering intensity, his broad torso. He wasn't devoted to her like Spike was, not an almost obsessive love, but a fiery hungry love, yet he had a life away from her. He had a son! Hell, he had two grandchildren on the way! Maybe that was what she found appealing about him. His world wasn't all about her, yet he was still her soulmate, right? Spike could be suffocating with his love. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the way he'd endured so much, and of course he'd been there for her for so much of her struggles. He'd been the one she'd turned to in struggling from her resurrection. He'd let her take advantage of his love and need for her. But Angel… Angel was… Angel was a part of her, part of her very soul. She couldn't ignore that, especially after seeing Connor and Calista and hearing Connacht's words. She closed her eyes and willed herself to bring the image of the man she chose to the front of her mind. She concentrated hard and then slowly he formed before her mind's eye. He smiled at her and she smiled back, then opened her eyes and whispered to the silent lobby.

"_Angel._"

* * *

Like it? Upset that Angel's the chosen one? Well it wouldn't make much sense if I didn't pick him, the whole soul mate thing that's going on right? Well actually- (author is suddenly attacked by angry muses, not wanting her to say anymore) Help!

Night's Darkness


	26. Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere

**Balance chp 26: Clean up, clean up everybody everywhere**

The next day started out quite interesting because when they all came down in the morning bit by bit, each of them nearly had heart attacks when they saw Calista, who was long up. She just gave them curious looks, then promptly forgot about their odd reactions as she began to potter around, taking charge of things. By eleven o' clock she had Gunn, Connor and Spike cleaning up, organising and putting away the weapons, had Angel and Buffy were put in charge of getting rid of the general messes around. She got Willow to cast a spell for purification around the hotel because, she said, she thought the hotel was feeling dirty and evil. For Cordy and Dawn she had a special job. She asked them to help her prepare for the birth of the babies by checking catalogues and the internet for cribs and clothes and the million other things they were going to need. The two of them were eager to comply. To Anya she gave the job of calculating expenses and making sure that they got their value for money, things Anya enjoyed immensely. Xander, Faith and Robin were ordered to take down the cage in the basement. Wesley and Giles she first scolded about the chaos of all the spell books and ancient text and all that stuff, then she ordered them to clear it all up and get it organised. Andrew, once again, was given the task of cooking. No one could figure out where this was coming from, except Connor of course.

"She's been like this for years." he smiled at Gunn when he asked, "She was always on our case to keep things organised, to keep them neat and orderly." He lowered his voice in case she was listening, "I think it's all she had to do most of the time, Daniel always insisted she stay in the caves, he said that's where a girl belonged. She became obsessed with everything being exactly as she wanted, every blanket had to be folded perfectly, all the food had to be cut exactly the same way every time, she went mad if it didn't happen."

"I couldn't blame her." Spike chimed in, "Having to stay behind all the time, I'd go stir crazy."

"Same here!" Gunn agreed, giving Connor a questioning look. Connor saw it and understood.

"I didn't really know any better, Daniel's word was law for us, so I didn't try to tell her any different really, but I didn't like her being on her own all the time, besides without her around I had no one to play with. So I did try to get her out of it when I could. It got harder as we got older though, we weren't allowed to play games really, and I was almost always out hunting, she was always in the cave, I only really got to see her at night when I came back."

"So how the hell did you end up together, even though it was inevitable?"

"Why was it inevitable?" Connor asked, though he was smiling. Spike smirked, and held up his hands, palms facing the ceiling. He nodded to his left one,

"Horny teenage boy," he then nodded to his right, "and horny teenage girl. Neither had any good stuff in their lives." He clapped his hands together, Gunn grimaced slightly. "See? Inevitable." Connor laughed. "Now answer the question peaches-junior." Connor rolled his eyes, Spike was forever calling him that, or mini-poof. It was irritating, but Connor actually didn't mind when he called him that in front of Angel, because his dad always got ticked off, and that was always fun to watch.

"Well, Daniel liked to go out for walks on his own as we got older and one night, because it was cold we lay down together, we did it all the time."

"Ooooohhh!" smirked Gunn knowingly, Spike grinned. Connor shook his head,

"We didn't do… **_that_**. We showed great restraint as a matter of fact."

"Sure kid, sure." Spike smirked. "So how'd you figure you'd knocked up your girl?" Connor shrugged,

"Daniel figured it out, she was throwing up a lot, and she kept crying for no reason, she was eating more and she was much more temperamental. Daniel was very suspicious because he'd caught us kissing before."

"I'm amazed he was ok with it, I mean back in those days… I dunno must have been the dimension getting to him." Spike muttered. Connor looked at the ground. Spike saw. "Or was he?" he asked slowly. Connor fidgeted slightly,

"I'd rather not talk about it." He muttered unhappily. They dropped the subject.

* * *

"How many more rooms?" complained Kennedy. Willow sighed softly, she may have really liked Kennedy, but as Spike would say _"The brat is getting on my bloody last nerve!"_

"About twenty Kennedy." she answered a little stiffly. "We want to make sure the whole hotel is done properly, so doing each room individually is better. Small magic is much safer then big magic, anyone will tell you that." Kennedy pouted like a five year old, and Willow resisted the urge to tell her to go away. That wouldn't be nice, especially Kennedy was only going around to spend time with her. She was beginning to feel tired but she didn't want to stop till she was finished, she wanted to please Calista who could use people doing everything for her for once.

"Can't we take a break, I think there's much more interesting things we could be doing." Kennedy swiftly changed tactics and wrapped her arms around her waist, and nibbled her neck. Willow sighed, she was tempted, she could admit that, but still, purification needed to be done, Kai Enna had really infused her evil into this place.

"Um, sweetie, that's not helping us do this quickly." she managed to get out.

"I don't care." Kennedy said huskily and she pushed Willow gently against the wall and grabbed her in a hungry kiss. Willow felt her mind going light. Purification could wait she decided.

* * *

Calista looked up as Buffy and Angel came in, and smiled before she returned to the phone book she was flitting through.

"Whatcha up to?" asked Angel, going over and resting crossed arms on the lobby desk.

"I'm looking for the number for a doctor, I need to book my last check up." Calista ran a slim finger down the list of numbers, her brow creasing in thought then she picked up the phone handle and dialled the number. She waited for a minute and then Angel heard a female voice answer.

"Dr. Berrser's Clinic, how can I help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to book a final antenatal appointment, please."

"Ok, do we have your file?"

"No. I've only just arrived in L.A."

"Can I get a name and number to get in contact with your last doctor. Oh and I'll need your name."

"Of course. Calista Holtz is my name, and the last place I was in was the Sisters of Mercy Hospital in Nevada."

"Ok I'll give them a call and then call you back to confirm your appointment. When would you like it to be?"

"Uh, anytime is fine for me really, preferably sooner rather then later."

"Alright just give me the number of the place you live at please." Calista gave the number of the hotel, mouthing thanks to Angel who'd written it down for her. She then said good bye and hung up. She then gave them a stern look.

"Is everything cleared up?"

"It's squeaky clean!" Buffy assured her.

"Absolutely." Angel smiled. Truth be told it really was perfectly clean, but only because they'd been so uncomfortable around each other that they'd focused completely on their work. Buffy raised her nose and sniffed deeply.

"Mmm, something smells good." she half moaned, she was starving now, it was two in the afternoon.

"Andrew's just finishing his cooking, he had to out to the shops twice before he had everything he needed."

"What's he making?" asked Angel curiously, the aroma was warming and intoxicating.

"Um, chocolate chip sandwich bread, Lady and Sons Chicken Pot Pie and he mentioned he'd give something called Chinese salad a try."

"Yum!" Buffy summed up her opinion in one little word. Calista smiled, then lead forward slightly, hampered by the belly.

"He may be annoying and as over eager as a puppy, but the boy is useful in some situations." She smiled brightly and then sat back and stood up slowly. She walked away from them, calling for Connor. He called back and then she disappeared as she went towards his voice. Buffy smiled after her and then turned to Angel and gushed,

"I love her! She's so cute!"

"Yeah, I know." Angel smiled broadly. "I wonder just how long she has to go. We ought to have a drill or something in case." Buffy smiled sweetly at him and he shrugged sheepishly.

"It may be worth a shot. But considering her size, I'd bet she'd pop during the drill."

"That would be a time saver." Angel commented thoughtfully. Buffy giggled softly, it was a big event. It'd been ages since she'd giggled for real. Angel chuckled softly, then stared at her and his smile faded slightly. She gazed back and became trapped in his eyes. She loved his eyes, those big brown puppy dog eyes. She loved him. She knew it and he probably knew it too. He straightened up and reached out to her, taking her hand. He raised it to his lips and kissed it, never taking his eyes off hers. She drew in a small, sharp breath at his gentle, cold touch. Their fingers entwined as they stepped closer together. She leaned her head back and he leaned forward, so slowly, it was almost agonising. Both knew what they wanted, both knew the other wanted it too, but they were still hesitant. Yet at last they met and their lips touched. Oh how wonderful it felt to be able to do that again. He reached up and stroked her face softly, making her tingle. Her whole body was tingling and her mind was in ecstasy. She knew she'd made the right choice in Angel. As they slowly parted Angel whispered

"I love you Buffy, I always have, always will." She smiled up at him then teased

"You can be so corny sometimes." He gave that delightful half smile of his and leaned in again. Buffy was about to do the same, when she got a chill up her spine and looked away from him. Right into Spike's hurt eyes. He stared at them, a hopeless look on his face, then turned and stormed down to the basement, no doubt heading for the sewers. Buffy knew she should follow him and explain. She didn't.

* * *

Night's Darkness 


	27. Two new arrivals!

As usual it took me ages to update, but I never leave a story unfinished, and this one isn't yet.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Balance chp 27: Two new arrivals**

"Are you sure you don't want to come Gunn?" Connor pressed again.

"I'm positive kid, I intend to do nothing more stressful then decided if I want buttered or toffee popcorn." Gunn assured him and to make his point clearer he wiggled in his seat, digging himself deeper into the couch. Connor laughed, getting the point.

"Then I guess it's just me and dad, since you _humans_ are going to be lazy and just watch that dumb movie."

"Hey! I'll have you know this movie is a classic!" Xander scolded

"Uh uh." Connor raised an eyebrow, once again glancing at the video box. "Titanic?"

"We need a good romance around here." Willow smiled as she sat down on the couch, snuggling up to Kennedy a big bowl of popcorn in her lap. Connor crossed his arms over his chest and raised the other eyebrow.

"A good romance ends with one of the lovers dead?" he asked curiously.

"Shh, don't spoil it!" Cordelia scolded, lobbing a cushion at him. Connor dodged it grinning.

"Boys or girls?" exclaimed Fred out of nowhere. Connor just shook his head. Fred groaned in frustration. Connor and Calista had gone to her last check-up and they had found out the sexes of the babies, but they refused to tell anyone else. They wanted it to be a surprise. Naturally this meant that the rest of them were now taking turns to jump on them and ask the question when they were least expecting it, so that they'd blurt it out. Unfortunately neither was falling for it. Rather they were amused by it.

"Connor ready to go?" asked Angel, coming in.

"Yeah dad, do you think we should wait for Dawn and Calista to come back before we leave?" Calista and Dawn had gone out shopping for a while, mostly to cheer poor Dawn up. She seemed to miss Spike the most. The blond vampire had left the hotel a week ago and hadn't been seen since.

"Connor, they'll be fine. Neither is defenceless, besides they said they'd be home in half an hour." Buffy assured him. Like Gunn, she'd vetoed the idea of going out slaying. She was much happier watching hunks and romance. Besides it would give Angel and Connor time together with out any stress.

* * *

"Connor behind you!" Angel called even as Connor whirled around and punched the vampire in the face. The two of them were on a roll, twenty vampires in ten minutes. Apparently word had gotten out who was responsible for the ending of the apocalypse, and resident demons wanted to show their appreciation. Suddenly Angel's phone rang. Two vampires paused in surprise, as if it was very wrong to have such a normal thing occurring when fighting the supernatural. Connor dusted them as his dad answered. "Yello?" Angel punched another vampire to Connor to stake. He then froze in complete shock. The phone slipped out of his hand and he stared ahead dumbly. Connor looked around as he got rid of the last vampire, concerned that there was another problem. His sharp ears picked up Dawn's voice calling from the phone, which had survived the fall. He picked it up and held it to his ear.

"Dawn?" he asked

"Oh hey Connor, what happened to Angel?"

"He went into shock. Why did my dad go into shock Dawn?"

"Well, erm…" Dawn hesitated and he heard Calista murmur something nearby.

"Dawn, put Calista on the phone." he told her calmly. He had a sudden feeling he knew what was up. What idiot couldn't guess considering the evidence? The next voice was Calista's.

"Connor?" she sounded excited.

"Calista are you in labour?" he asked pointedly.

"Yes." She answered with equal bluntness.

"Ok then."

"We're getting a cab now. We're going straight to the hospital. Why don't you get the others and then come over?"

"Alright, are you ok?"

"The contractions are only slight, and my waters haven't broken, so I'm fine for now." He knew she was smiling radiantly.

"Good… I love you."

"I know." She hung up and Connor turned to his catatonic dad.

"Were you this bad for my birth?" he asked shaking him.

"No. Too much was happening." Angel's voice was distant. He was still in shock. Connor found he was still mobile if he was pulled in the right direction. They found the gang exactly where they'd left him. The Titanic was barely out of port, they hadn't been gone long. Connor left Angel in the archway of the door and went up and switched off the TV. A chorus of protests rose up but a quick, "Calista's in labour" robbed them of all words. They gaped at him and he felt a slight irritation flare up.

"Look I can't have you all acting like zombies, minus the fleshing eating part. We're to meet the girls at the hospital. So hop, skip and jump to it!" On reflection, he acknowledged that he really did sound like Connacht more and more. However the words seemed to have their desired effect. They all jumped to their feet and began running around. Connor ran upstairs and picked up Calista's bag. It contained all the things she'd need. Clothes, towels, body stuff, a couple of books, and a word search book. He checked that everything was in it and then slipped it onto his shoulder. He looked around the room, wondering why he felt so calm about this, he was about to become a father. Yet he knew it would be alright, he had his dad, his friends… no his family and he had Calista, on top of which he had a brainful of powerful knowledge. He knew he'd be fine.

"Connor!" called Angel, "Hurry up!" He hurried down before his dad came for him. "Got everything?"

"Yes. Ready?"

"No." Angel blurted. Connor rolled his eyes, smiling to take away the sting of the gesture,

"I meant to go."

"Oh, then yes." Angel would have blushed had he been able.

"Ready to become a grandfather."

"No!" Connor laughed.

* * *

Dawn paced back and forth outside the hospital. Calista had asked her to keep a look out for the others.

She was feeling edgy, the whole labour thing had caught her completely off guard.

_(Flashback)_

Dawn and Calista were walking down the street keeping an eye out for a taxi, chatting about how Calista should have her hair cut. Dawn personally thought she should keep it long, but only half way down her back. Calista was considering getting it really short, like Buffy once got it the day she turned invisible.

"If you did that you'd never be able to do anything with it really." Dawn objected.

"But I've always had very long hair, it'd be nice to have it different. A new look for a new life." Calista suddenly paused and pressed her hand to her belly, a small frown on her face. Dawn looked at her with growing concern. This was the fifth stop on this street alone where she'd done that. It was as if she couldn't make up her mind if something was wrong or not. Now Dawn was so paranoid that every time she stopped she got a flash in her mind of Calista screaming in labour with herself having to deliver the babies on the street. Not pretty. Calista sighed and then began to toddle along again. Dawn didn't ask if she was alright, Calista said if something was wrong she'd say so.

"I mean maybe you're right, maybe keeping my hair long is a good idea, just not as long as yours. Maybe as long as Willow's, I love her hair colour." Calista returned to their topic with such a sharpness it left Dawn shocked for a second, but then she recovered.

"Yeah Willow has lovely hair, and so does Anya."

"And you and Buffy." Calista added.

"Aw thank you." Dawn smiled, "Your hair is lovely too."

"It just needs a cut." Calista laughed, she had a nice laugh, she was a nice girl. Dawn thought she was pretty, but she wasn't staggeringly pretty, she wasn't so pretty that Dawn felt ugly. Yet it was definitely her personality that made her beautiful, it was easy to see why Connor was head over heels for her. Dawn's musings were halted when Calista grabbed her hand.

"Ok I wasn't sure before, but now I am, I'm in labour."

"What! Are you sure?" Dawn panicked. Calista nodded patiently.

"Yes, these are not Braxton-hicks contractions. There's a difference."

"Wouldn't your, you know, waters burst?"

"Not always, Dawn, you watch too much TV." Calista smiled at her, how the heck was she so calm? Dawn could only assume it was the spell Connacht and Calida had put on her. "Listen call Angel on the phone and I'll get a taxi, ok?"

"Uh, ok." This was surreal, it was so calm and slow. Calista was right; she did watch too much TV. Dawn pulled out her phone and speed dialled Angel…

_(End Flashback)_

Calista had been taken to her private room, Angel had organised it and paid it with all the trimming ensured. There were definitely perks to having him as a 'father-in-law'; Calista had giggled when Dawn had said that.

"Dawn!" she whirled around to see everyone hurrying over. Angel looked panicked and Connor seemed calm, just like Calista, she noted. She also noted that Lorne had put on a full length trench coat, a hat and bug eyed sunglasses in an effort to hide his demonism. Well he got points for trying.

"Hey guys, she's being settled in, c'mon." she motioned for them to follow. She led them upstairs to room 367 and knocked before going in. Calista looked over at them and smiled. She was pacing back and forth but she stopped as Connor came up to her. They kissed sweetly and Connor stroked her belly softly.

"How are you doing?"

"Ok, the doctors want me to try to break my waters myself, it's better then if they do it." She smiled at him and then began to pace again. "Wow, you brought the whole gang!" She finally noticed that everyone was here.

"I couldn't keep them away." Connor smiled.

"Are the contractions really bad?" Willow wondered

"No, not at all yet, I feel them, but there's no real pain, so far so good." There was another knock on the door and Calista called

"Come in!" A tall brunette woman with green eyes and a white coat came in.

"Oh wow big party." she smiled, "Now where's the momma to be?"

"Over here!" Calista waved over everyone and they parted to let the doctor through.

"Ok then, uh, Calista right?" Calista nodded, "I'm Dr. Miller. How's it coming with your waters?"

"Um…" Calista scrunched up her face and there was a sound of gushing as her waters broke. Over Angel's favourite shoes no less. He winced and sighed softly to himself. First Darla's waters break all over the back seat of his beloved car, now his shoes were the victims. That had to be a sign it just had to be.

"Right then, very good." The doctor was clearly amused, whether it was her timing, or her aim wasn't clear. "Ok I'd like to just see how dilated you are, but I'm not sure how long this will take."

"Aren't multiple births supposed to be quicker." Willow wondered out loud.

"Generally speaking they are, oh by the way, when was your due date?"

"Uh three or four days from now." Calista smiled as Connor and Angel helped her onto the bed. The doctor made a note of it.

"Ok, it's very common to go into early labour with multiple births. Are they well spaced out?"

"About two minutes."

"Really?" the doctor looked surprised.

"Is that bad?" Connor worried. She looked at him,

"And you are?"

"Oh I'm Connor, her boyfriend, and the father."

"Okey-dokey then and you?" she looked at Angel.

"Liam Angel. I'm Connor's… brother."

"Right then and in answer to your question, no it's not bad, it's just this seems to be happening very quickly. Are they extremely painful?"

"No not quite, but that last one was kinda bad. I've been having very bad false contractions for a good part of the pregnancy so maybe I'm just used to it."

'_Or maybe a certain someone is still taking care of you.' _mused Dawn. Was it possible that Calida was still caring for her? The doctor smiled and then moved to the foot of the bed. She paused and looked at the group of fourteen people (minus Connor, Calista and Angel).

"I'm afraid I'll need you to leave, I'd say Calista would like some privacy, I'm going to see how dilated she is." Calista smiled at them then groaned and grabbed Connor's hand. Automatically the doctor turned to her and said, "Remember your breathing Calista." Calista did so, calm deep breaths. As the contraction ended she leaned back against the pillows and the others filed out.

"Doctor?" Calista shifted and leaned forward to the doctor to speak to her. Dr. Miller leaned closer and Calista opened her mouth to speak again. Then she paused and glanced at Connor and Angel uncomfortably. The boys took the hint,

"Uh, c'mon Connor, lets um, go get Calista some water, or is it ice chips? You want anything else Calista?" She shook her head, "Ok then coming Connor?"

"Sure… Liam." Connor raised his eyebrows in amusement and followed Angel out. Calista shuffled slightly then leaned closer to Dr. Miller. The woman smiled and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, leaning in.

"Uh, I was wondering if I could have a female only team please?"

"Of course, you are to do whatever you want to make yourself comfortable, although strictly speaking, we'll only need me there to deliver the baby and an assistant to… assist."

"Oh ok then." Calista nibbled her lip and seemed to want to say more. Dr. Miller smiled at her gently and reassuringly.

"Was there something else?"

"Well… I want them to be born with me being the first person they come into contact with… skin to skin."

"Ah." She nodded having an idea where the teen was going with this. "You want to give birth naked so that there's enough skin."

"Is that bad?" she wondered wide eyed. An incredibly innocent look for some one about to have a child. Smiling more Dr. Miller shook her head.

"There's nothing wrong with it. What way do you want to give birth? What position?"

"Um… it's not supposed to be good for the baby or something to be born with the mother on her back or something."

"That position is now determined to be very bad for birth. It compresses all the major vessels and laceration is more likely to happen."

"Oh, well I want to give birth squatting down, if that's possible."

"That should be fine." Dr. Miller nodded.

"Thank you." Calista reached out and squeezed her hand gratefully. The woman patted her hand gently and the two looked up as Connor and 'Liam' came back inside. Connor handed her a plastic cup of ice chips. She took it and placed a few in her mouth.

"Ok, I'll just check you now."

"Do you want us to leave again?" Connor asked, gently stroking her cheek. She smiled at him and shook her head.

"No, stay Connor, and Liam, you can just turn your back to me." 'Liam' complied and the doctor checked her.

"Well, you're four centimetres already, that's very impressive."

"Do you think this will be quick?"

"Oh I don't like predicting that, you never really know." Calista grunted and squeezed Connor's hand tightly as another contraction came. She breathed properly and then relaxed.

"I hope this doesn't last long." she said releasing Connor's hand, "They're already getting past the tolerable point."

"Would you like an epidural, or some other form of pain relief?"

"No, no, I'll live." Calista smiled at her, "I'm not scared of pain, I just don't want this to be long. I feel like I've been waiting years for this to come."

"Pregnancy can feel that way sometimes." Dr. Miller smiled and patted her hand again, "I'll come back in a little while to check on you again, and if you have any problems let me know ok?"

"Thanks doctor." Connor smiled at her and then turned to Calista and stroked her face gently, lovingly. She closed her eyes and leaned into the touch, unaware of the doctor leaving. Unfortunately she was very much aware of the next contraction that came. She groaned and nearly crushed Connor's hand, making him yelp like a puppy. She bit down on the ice chips she pressed into her mouth, the sudden cold numbing her tongue. When it was past Angel asked

"Calista are you sure you don't want any pain relief?"

"Angel, women have been giving birth since the beginning of time, and most of them didn't even get an option of pain relief. If they could do it, so can I." Calista's eyes were dancing with excitement and determination. She then looked at Connor and said casually

"I just sorted out how I'll be giving birth with the doctor."

"Uh, excuse me?" Connor blinked at her bewilderedly, "I thought there was only one way to give birth." Angel had to grin at his son's naivety.

"No I mean the position." Calista giggled, she didn't really seem to be in labour at all, except when the contractions came, but once it was over she just seemed so normal. Angel wondered if it was the spell that Connacht and Calida had cast or if it was just her. "I decided I want to give birth squatting down and naked." Connor blushed, and threw an embarrassed look at his dad who stared at the ceiling, trying to pretend he wasn't there. "I want to ensure skin to skin contact with the babies when they're born, so I'm going to be naked. Ok?"

Connor thought about it for a second then nodded,

"Ok."

* * *

"Ok, we are definitely ready to go I'd say." Dr. Miller announced as she checked Calista again.

"Really?" Calista gasped her tone verging on pissed off. The contractions had begun to get the better of her excitement. Not that anyone held it against her. The labour, which had started out quickly, was now in its twentieth hour.

"10cm." the doctor answered simply. Calista stared at her in obvious shock. An intern came in with a wheelchair and Connor and Angel help her onto it, more carrying her then anything. The others who were still there, Buffy, Dawn and Fred were all beaming encouraging smiles at her. The rest of the group had gone back to the hotel because there had been too many of them.

"Good luck Calista!" Dawn chirruped

"You'll do great." Fred smiled. Buffy gave her a hug, saying softly

"You can do this." in her ear. She smiled at them and at Angel who stared at her, obviously at a loss at what to say. Then he leaned forward and hugged her in a bear hug saying so softly,

"Thank you." and then he let go. She squeezed his hand and then Connor wheeled her out to the delivery room, the doctor at her side.

* * *

Calista managed to stand as she arrived at the delivery room and once she was sure the door was shut tight, she took off the hospital gown. She heard Connor draw in a sharp breath, but couldn't do anything as another contraction hit her. Connor's arms caught her and held her up. They walked slowly to the mat in the room and then they crouched down, Calista squatted down in position.

"Ok, Connor, go in front of her alright." Dr. Miller instructed already moving behind the panting girl. Connor did as he was told and at the doctor's next instruction wrapped his arms around her and supported her. "Alright Calista with the next contraction I want you to push, ready?" Calista nodded, and drew in a deep breath and then held it as she began to push the babies out into the world. Her face went red and scrunched up in pain. A cry escaped her lips along with her breath and her nails dug into Connor's back. "Ok, and again." Calista pushed again, making airless noises of pain. Connor continued to hold her up, whispering encouraging words to her. "Alright, I have the head, one more and this baby will be born and then you can take a little rest." That hadn't taken long at all Connor thought to himself, but looking at Calista he knew she'd beg to differ. She grunted and then began to push again, the whole room seemed engulfed with silence, as if they were all holding their breaths. Connor stared at his lover, his mate and found himself thinking _'You're so beautiful!'_ Suddenly Calista let out a scream and then fell against him. Connor held her close and kissed her sweaty face over and over. The doctor smiled at him over Calista's shoulder and held up the baby in her hands.

"Oh, oh wow Calista, you- oh she's so beautiful." he managed to gasp, so shocked was he.

"Our daughter?" Calista whispered

"Yes, oh she's amazing." Dr. Miller moved her arms so that Calista could take the baby girl. Calista took her into her arms and held her close. The baby let out a soft noise, but then opened her eyes and her mouth, making tiny sucking motions with it. They both giggled in glee and Calista held their daughter to her chest, gently kissing her messy forehead. Connor was awed at how beautiful she was, how utterly perfect. Then Calista gasped and grunted as she began to push again. She dug her nails into his back again but didn't dare tense up the arm that cradled their first child.

"Good Calista and again." Calista pushed hard. "Brilliant, and one more." She screwed up her face and pushed with all her might, letting out a primal roar as the second child, their son, came into the world. Calista reached out and instantly received the boy, and put him to her chest as well. Connor couldn't believe it. They'd done it, she'd done it, their children at long last were here! Calista stared down at them and then burst into tears of joy. She sobbed hard, looking from one to the other and then up at Connor the biggest smile he'd ever seen on her face. Calista suddenly whimpered as the doctor took the baby boy and the assistant took the baby girl from her embrace. They tied and cut the cords quickly and then wrapped each baby in a blanket, blue and pink respectively. They were then returned to their mother, as she sat down on the ground and leaned against Connor completely. He kissed her cheek again and then pressed a kiss to the babies heads. He stared at them and grinned knowingly at their son.

"He's got your hair Calista!" he exclaimed with delight.

"Oh he does! And look I think she has your eyes." Calista smiled down at their daughter who was blinking blearily at them. Connor couldn't imagine what this must have been like for them being in this world, but he hoped they were as happy as they were.

* * *

Buffy and Angel stood side by side, facing the door that Calista had gone through waiting nervously. Buffy shifted from foot to foot and then asked

"Are you ready to be a grandfather?" Angel looked at her and then shrugged

"Well, uh, not like I really have an option, I mean they're in there being born and, well I'm more then old enough and I- no." he finally answered truthfully. Buffy took his hand and squeezed it.

"It's ok, you don't have to worry, you'll be great."

"It's just with Connor I-"

"Don't! Don't go there, it's all behind you. All of you. This is a fresh start for everyone, don't bring up the bad stuff anymore." Buffy cautioned him. "Connor and Calista are gonna need and they want to see you smile and laugh and be merry when they come out that door." Angel opened his mouth to answer her when a roar from the room vibrated in their ears. They stared at the door wide eyed and then Buffy said quickly

"Ok I never ever want kids!" Angel just nodded numbly. The silence following the roar was eerie. Then he heard the sound of tearful laughter and cries of muffled joy. He looked up at the door, and knew, without a doubt that they were here.

It was about time too.

* * *

Sorry if people wanted more in the labour but honestly I've no clue about it really, and thanks to this computers parental protection crap I couldn't find any sites with the info I really needed. Besides I honestly didn't want to go into gory details.

If anyone has any names they like I'll add them to the hat when I give the babies their names.

Night's Darkness


	28. Words and Gifts

A belated but nonetheless heartfelt Happy New Year to all readers!

* * *

**Balance chp 28: Words and Gifts**

Connor reached out and stroked Calista's cheek. She sighed slightly in her sleep and turned to his touch. He smiled and kissed her brow, and then turned to the plastic crib beside the bed. The babies were lying snug in it, head to feet. He leaned in close and studied each carefully. Their skin was darker then either his or Calista's, but that was normal with newborns, and the girl had a full head of dark hair, like him and their son, much to his joy, had Calista's hair. Both had tiny button noses and round slightly fuzzy cheeks. His daughter was sucking on her hand and her little feet gave a small kick, narrowly missing her brother. Connor grinned; he could already guess she'd be the spunky one, the one who was always up to mischief. She'd be like him. His son was probably going to have his mothers attributes, his hair was almost colourless, and thin. Connor noted that they both had a large forehead that no doubt came from Angel. Spike would have pitied them. He smiled wider; he couldn't believe how perfect they were, down to their tiny fingers and toes.

"I'm so glad you're here." he whispered to them as he took in their heavenly scents. He looked up as someone knocked softly on the door. He walked over and opened it. Angel and Buffy were on the other side, their eyes wide and shining and a bright smile on both their lips.

"Hey. Can we come in?" Angel whispered.

"Yeah sure." Connor whispered back, stepping aside, letting them. Angel slipped past and Connor saw the flowers in Buffy's hands. "Those are nice." he commented. She held them up

"Yeah, we just thought she might like something to say well done on having them… or congratulations, which sounds much better." She smiled as she came in and set the flowers down on a chair then they both turned to Angel who was staring at the babies, looking awed. His mouth hung slightly open and his eyes were wide.

"They're so small." he muttered. Buffy stood beside him and her whole face lit up,

"Oh, they are the cutest! Oh hello you two."

"Aren't they just?" They all looked up; Calista was smiling tiredly at them, lying on her side to see them better. Connor immediately moved over to her and took her hand.

"Hey, did we wake you?"

"It's fine." She told him as she smiled up at him, her face looking so content and peaceful. Her eyes moved to the crib and her eyes went tender as she reached out to the babies. "My babies." she called lightly. At once both babies opened their eyes and shifted restlessly, as if they'd heard their mother's call. Buffy giggled in delight. Connor went over and scooped their son up and passed him to his mother who held him close. He then picked up their little girl and settled her in his own arms and sat on the bed. Calista gently stroked their son's face, her eyes moving over him as she drank him in. Connor looked down at his daughter and then back at his mate, she looked so awed and happy, happier then he could remember.

"So perfect." she whispered, then giggled as their son turned his face towards her, his little mouth puckering up, asking for food. Without hesitation she undid the front of her hospital gown and put him to her breast. He began to suck greedily his whole body curling up in effort. Calista held out her free arm and silently asked for their daughter. Connor passed her and she too was put to the breast. After a few moments of silence Buffy asked

"What are you going to call them?" Connor and Calista looked up at her.

"We don't know yet. We have a list but we can't choose." Connor admitted.

"Any suggestions?" Calista asked knowingly. At once Buffy pulled out a piece of paper and gave it to Connor saying

"Just a couple." Connor unfolded it and raised his eyebrows.

"Just a couple?" he held it up and they all saw it was covered in small writing. Some of the names had their meanings written beside them. Buffy shrugged.

"And that's just her list." Angel gave them another sheet covered in names from him. Unsurprisingly most of them were Irish. Calista laughed

"Don't tell me! Everyone's got their own list." Angel shrugged. Connor groaned.

"We have a problem." he stated and then looked up at his dad patronisingly "Dad. While I appreciate your input we will not be calling our daughter Faoiltiarna." Both girls stared at the vampire who shifted from foot to foot sheepishly.

"I figured, but it's a nice name." Calista laughed again and then glanced at the clock.

"Angel it'll be getting light soon, you'd better head back." The room they were in was already beginning to getting brighter. Angel groaned and said

"I'll be back as soon as I can. I'll send some of the others over, they're dieing to see you all." he kissed Calista on the cheek and hugged Connor tightly. If the babies weren't still feeding he'd have kissed them too. He smiled radiantly at Buffy and then left. Buffy smiled after him, thinking to herself,

'_I haven't seen him this happy before.' _Her eyes widened suddenly and she turned around to Connor saying.

"I'm, uh, gonna get some coffee, you guys want anything."

"Uh, mocha?" Calista asked

"Same." Connor added. Buffy smiled tightly and then rushed out feeling panicked. She hurried to a pay phone and dialled up the hotel. After many rings Fred answered.

"_Hello?_"

"Fred? It's Buffy!"

"_Hey Buffy, what's up, you sound worried. Is something wrong?_"

"No at least not yet, see, uh, well… ok, you know the way Angelus is released by perfect happiness?"

"_Yes._"

"Well he just left the hospital looking very, very happy!" There was a brief silence, and the

"_Oh._"

"Yeah, I just thought I'd give you a heads up. He may not be released but don't take any chances."

"_Ok Buffy, thanks, we'll be on our guard. Is that all? How do the babies look?_"

"Oh their tiny! And the girl has a mop of dark hair on her head!" Buffy gushed

"_Aw!_"

"And the boy, he's got this downy fair hair that's nearly clear! They have the cutest little fingers and faces."

"_Ooooh I can't wait to see them!_"

"Angel said he'd send some of you over."

"_Ok then, see you later Buffy._"

"Bye Fred." Buffy hung up feeling much better, and then remembered she'd promised to get Connor and Calista drinks. Unfortunately the button for mochas was broken on the machine so she settled for three hot chocolates. She returned to see the two teens gently getting the babies wind up.

"Well what about Rebecca?"

"No she doesn't look like a Rebecca at all!" Calista wrinkled her nose and looked down at their daughter. Then she looked at their son,

"What about David?"

"Nah, too strong a name, he looks like he'll be gentle and sweet."

"Hmm, true." Buffy then stepped into the room saying

"Hey! No coffee so I got you some hot chocolate, an even better substitute." She set them down and sipped her own, observing the four. They looked like that family you see in couch commercials, all smiles and laughs. She felt a twinge of envy in her heart as she thought this. Suddenly the boy burped, quite loudly, and then let out a small wail. Calista giggled again and held him close, gently rocking him in her arms. He quickly quieted and his mummy looked proud of herself. Daddy pressed a sweet kiss to his daughter's brow, and then another to her cheek. Baby girl yawned widely, letting out little noises and her daddy obligingly set her back in her plastic cot. Buffy wrinkled her nose at it; it was so ugly.

'_Good thing we got them nice bassinets and cribs.' _she thought to herself. She couldn't wait till the four of them came home and they saw the surprise they had in store for them. The two teens had nearly walked in on it more then once, so it'd be a relief to finally show them. The baby boy fell asleep in his mummy's arms and his daddy placed him beside his sister. Then daddy yawned.

"Tired Connor?" Calista teased. Connor just smiled.

* * *

Two nights later Calista was dozing after a 3am feed, she'd convinced Connor to go get some sleep in the Hyperion that night so she was alone in the room save the babies. Suddenly she sat up and stared at the darkened corner. She smiled softly,

"Hello Spike." Spike, almost sheepishly stepped forward.

"Hullo luv." he muttered sounding embarrassed. She smiled at him knowingly.

"You came to see the babies?"

"Well, seeing as I helped protect them and all I figure it was a due."

"Protect them? From what?" her forehead creased in confusion. Spike mentally slapped himself

'_Nice going William!'_

"You know what never mind. I never should have come."

"No no, Spike! Don't go!" she reached out and caught his arm in a vice grip. He had little choice but to stay if he wanted to keep that arm, and he was rather fond of it. He let her pull him over to the edge of her bed and he slowly sat down on it. She then leaned forward and carefully pulled the plastic cot closer for the two of them to see. She switched on the lights, but kept them dim. Spike leaned forward to see the babies.

"Bloody hell those foreheads!" he breathed. She grinned and laughed silently. Slowly as if he had no control over his digits he pressed his forefinger into Baby girl's open hand. She instantly gripped it, Spike's eyes widened. "Bloody hell what a grip she's got." Calista lightly slapped him on the arm

"No cursing in front of the babies." she mock scolded.

"Yes mummy." he teased back. She cocked her head to the side and then said

"Will you leave again after this?" Spike looked at her in confusion, then looked away. She put her hand on his arm again. "I wish you would stay. Connor would like it too. He likes having you for a nephew." Spike's lips twitched in amusement. "He likes talking to you, you don't sugar coat everything like Angel has a habit of doing, and I know he likes that you can show a lighter side to Angelus."

"I can't! Not if poof and slayer are gonna be all lovey dovey. I love her."

"Maybe but that doesn't mean you were meant to be."

"I got a soul for her!"

"Shh!" Calista quieted him so he didn't wake the babies then she said "Maybe so, but consider this. Maybe you got a soul for her, but has it really made things any better? What if you got a soul so someone would love you, but that doesn't mean it has to be Buffy. A relationship that's more tears then laughter isn't really a relationship. You and Buffy have something, but I don't think it's what she and Angel have. They are soul mates; no one could ever deny that." Spike sighed and stood up. He paced the linoleum floor slowly feeling her eyes on him watching him intently. "Having a soul means you can give any person true love, not just obsession Spike. Come back to the hotel."

"Give me one good reason." he growled.

"You're family." she answered simply. He sighed again.

* * *

Three days after they were born and they were taking the babies home. Calista was washed and dressed and Baby boy and Baby girl, as they were known as at present, were wrapped up in so many blankets that they were lost. Connor took Baby girl in his arms and Fred carried Baby boy leaving Calista with nothing to carry. They wouldn't even let her carry her own bag, Buffy had it. She offered to carry something and they just waved her away telling her to take it easy. She eventually gave in but not before a lot of insisting that she was fine. They got in the car and drove back to the hotel. At this point Calista demanded to be given one of her children. Fred handed him over. They walked inside, Calista cooing to the baby, whose face was only just visible.

"SURPRISE!" She jumped and stepped back in shock. The others all laughed, and Dawn rushed forward to take a picture. Connor was laughing at her surprised face. The lobby had been decorated with cheesy banners and streamers. Obviously a hurried project, but the sentiment was what counted. She smiled in delight and exclaimed

"Oh my God! This is so great!"

"No it isn't." smiled Anya, "But we have cake, lots of cake." And she held up a slice on a plate.

"Anya! You were meant to wait!" scolded Andrew.

"Why? I was hungry." Anya stared at him in bewilderment. Calista laughed.

"It's fine, really I'm so hungry I'd eat a whole herd of slucks." Connor grimaced, apparently slucks, whatever they were, were not appetising.

"Since you'll need free hands to eat why not put the twins in these." Angel waved an arm at two beautiful woven bassinets, one with a pink bow and the other with a blue one. Calista squealed in delight and ran over to them, baby and all.

"Oh Angel, oh my god, they're so beautiful. Thank you!" Calista abruptly burst into tears. Alarmed, Angel wondered if something was wrong. Connor smiled and set down Baby Girl in the pink bowed bassinet and then took Baby Boy and put him in the other. Calista wiped her eyes, and sniffed loudly

"I'm sorry, I keep crying for no reason."

"The doctor said it was hormones." Connor explained "It'll pass in a few days."

"The doctor also said she'd made a remarkable recovery, apparently she tore something during to the labour and it was already healed up." Fred commented thoughtfully. Anya nodded,

"Fascinating, cake?" and held out another slice.

"Oo chocolate!" Fred helped herself. Calista meanwhile had managed to control herself and now smiled sheepishly. Connor smiled softly back and stroked her face.

"You want some cake?" he asked. She nodded. Wesley and Giles came over and stared at the babies. Calista raised her pale eyebrow at them curiously and asked dryly

"Are you looking at them as Watchers or two men who have absolutely no clue about babies?" Both looked up and blushed slightly

"There's no real way to answer that." Wesley decided.

"For your information Calista I happen to have quite an extensive knowledge of taking care of babies." She smirked slightly and said a little louder,

"Minding Buffy and the others while they were still in high school is not quite the same Giles." Giles grinned devilishly back at her.

"Well I afraid I can't agree with that statement, you, young lady, have never had to listen to Xander's teenage woes,"

"Hey!" Xander exclaimed. Cordelia laughed

"Or Cordelia's pettiness,"

"Hey!" she exclaimed

"Or Buffy's-"

"Ok Giles, we get the point!" Buffy interrupted, Angel was chuckling behind his hand and she elbowed him in the ribs. Quite hard. Connor laughed this time and passed Calista her cake with a kiss. She smiled and dug in. He didn't seem to have eating on his mind as he stroked her stomach and discreetly kissed her neck. She didn't mind the attention at all, it had been too long since they'd had any kind of real intimacy; the pregnancy had taken over. She noticed that no one else seemed aware of what Connor was doing, and she knew that he was good at hiding what he was doing. Why was he good at doing that? She suddenly wondered why she couldn't remember but as Connor's lips brushed her ear she shrugged it off, it didn't matter. Suddenly she looked around again and noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Spike?" she asked upset. Connor pulled away slightly in surprise at the question.

"Spike?" he asked perplexed. "Spike's been gone for days."

"But he promised he'd come back!" she exclaimed, "He said he would when he came to visit me in the hospital yesterday."

"Spike came to visit you?" butted in Dawn looking hopeful. Calista nodded, still searching for the blond vampire. She looked quite sad as she realised he wasn't there. Connor hugged her from behind and kissed her neck gently to comfort her.

"Maybe he'll be along later, when the sun goes down." he suggested. She nodded, holding his arms in place around her waist with her free hand.

"Yeah." she sighed then perked up "Yeah! He'll be along later." she seemed to believe her words and then dug into what was left of her cake smiling again. Connor held her close against him, resting his chin on her shoulder. His eyes scanned the group with contentment and joy. He'd never looked so peaceful she thought to herself then wondered why that was. Why was Connor so different now? What made him sad? To her growing frustration she couldn't remember. She hadn't forgotten what Spike said, that was why she'd suddenly thought of him, that he'd helped protect her babies. Protect them from what? She couldn't for the life of her remember.

"So any names for these little guys yet?" Dawn wondered hopefully. The two parents shared looks.

"Well… we've been considering a few names, but first we needed to sort something out." Calista began slowly, sitting down on the pouf chair, Connor following her.

"What's that?"

"Whether we want to name them Angel or Holtz." The room went eerily quiet. Connor explained

"I've decided my name is Connor Steven Angel and Calista is Calista Sarah Holtz, but we don't know if we want the babies to have Holtz or Angel as their last name.

"Why not Holtz-Angel?" Connor shook his head.

"That doesn't feel right to us… considering the mutual feelings between Daniel and Dad it wouldn't work. So it has to be one or the other."

"We know Angel is their grandfather by blood, but Daniel did so much for us, he's equally their grandfather. So we've been trying to decide."

"We considered giving one Angel and the other Holtz, but we want them to have the same name." Both avoided Angel's eyes, ashamed that they couldn't instantly pick him. Angel meanwhile was gripping Buffy's hand tightly, feeling old pain well up inside him. Still he understood, Daniel Holtz would always be important to the two, no matter how'd he'd treated them or what he'd done. Connor held Calista's hand, their fingers entwining. Calista looked very different now that she was no longer pregnant. She'd already regained her figure, although she'd sworn she used to be thinner, which, if it was true, would have meant she'd been unhealthily thin. She had a large bust, although that was probably from the pregnancy and her milk, but everywhere else was skinny and toned. Now she didn't look quite as soft, she was much tougher looking, although her face was still quite innocent, her eyes still large. Now they looked a little lost as she thought carefully. She turned to Connor slowly.

"Maybe… maybe we could give the twins one name, and then the next child we have could have the other name." Angel looked up sharply, his neck cricking.

"N-next child?" he squeaked eyes massive. She suddenly turned back to the near shaking vampire and gave him a devilish grin.

"Only joking Angel, relax." He did, quite violently, nearly dropping to the ground in relief.

"Not funny." he gasped. Connor chuckled, then leaned closer to her and nuzzled slightly against her face. She responded in kind, smiling more sweetly. Gunn and Wesley chuckled to themselves, while Xander laughed out loud. Anya looked bewildered,

"Why would you want more of them? All they do is cry and eat and poop. I don't know why anyone would want them." Calista smiled patiently at her while Connor scowled faintly.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out, now how about the first names?" Willow asked eagerly, no doubt hoping that one of her name suggestions had been picked.

"Well we've narrowed it down to about twenty each." Connor admitted. "Maybe Aurora orFiona or Selene for the girl, maybe Michael, orSeamus or Jason for the boy."

"Are those your main ones?"

"No, just a few of the options."

"I'd like something a bit exotic." Calista mused softly, "Something different, interesting… but not like Faoiltiarna."

"Will you let that go!" exclaimed Angel looking embarrassed. They all laughed and the mood lightened again. Buffy whispered to Angel and both Connor and Calista heard her say

"Can we show them, I can't wait much longer."

"Show us what?" Connor grinned as the Slayer jumped guiltily, "Well?" Angel and Buffy shared a look and then grinned at each other.

"Ok, come on, we'll bring the babies too." Between them all the bassinets, with sleeping babies secure within, were carried up the stairs. They went past Connor and Calista's room and to another room. They stopped outside the door.

"Ok you two, close your eyes." Buffy grinned at them. They shared a bewildered look and then Connor took Calista's hand and they closed their eyes.

"Ok wait here." Angel ordered as he opened the door and he carried the bassinets in one at a time. He then made sure everything was set up and finally called in the two teens. "Alright open your eyes." They did and gaped at what they saw. This wasn't just a room it was an apartment, with a kitchen, a living area, a nursery and a bedroom with side bathroom. The whole place had been redone with new furnishings and paint jobs and electric work. It looked like a different world compared to the rest of the hotel, much more modern with all the trimmings. The kitchen was a warm yellow, with cherry wood cupboards and drawers, which had silver handles. There was a fridge and freezer in a corner beside a cooker and gas stove. There was a table and five chairs of more cherry wood. Serving as the counters was black marble. The living area was a warm amber colour with white curtains and it had a wide screen TV with a red suede couch and matching seat. There was a side table and coffee table, which rested on an African styled rug. The bedroom was a contrasting cool compared to the warmth of the other two rooms. It was full of icy colours, so it looked like a winter wonderland, light blue and silver. The bed was a large four-poster bed with gauzy white and silver material wrapped around the posts. The walls were light blue with silver linings, giving off a romantic feel in it. Angel had lit a few candles to enhance the feeling as well as put the bassinets nearby the bed. The bathroom was fairly standard with a bath and shower, toilet and sink. The nursery was filled with stuffed animals, and was a wondrous mix of colours, purples, blues, pinks, greens, reds and yellows were covering the walls in a wonderful spatter effect. The ceiling was dark blue, navy almost black with all the constellations shining in silver on it. The carpet was soft and furry under their feet and everything was childproofed. In the centre of the room were two cribs, one blue and one pink. At the wall was a changing table, with all the trimmings, nappies, bottles, more stuffed toys, everything they needed, even an old fashioned rocking chair in the corner.

"Oh…" Calista gasped, all words robbed from her. Connor couldn't even manage an 'oh', they looked so shocked that Dawn had to take another picture. The flash seemed to wake them up and Calista squealed in pure delight and started dragging Connor from one thing to another. "Oh look Connor, the fridge even has food in it already! Oh and plates and everything. Guys how… how did you…" she spun around gesturing to everything, words again escaping her.

"Well most of this was done during the days you two were sleeping, with Xander's construction knowledge and a little help from Willow's magic. We bought a lot of the stuff while you were in hospital, since Connor was nearly always there he wouldn't have noticed. So… you like it?" Angel grinned as Calista bounced over to him and hugged him tight enough to crush his ribcage. He winced slightly and hugged her back. Calista let him go and hugged Buffy and then Dawn and then everyone else. She then hurried over to Connor and threw herself into his arms, lifting her legs so all her weight was on him, feet kicking the air screeching with delight again. Connor wrapped his arms around her and spun her around, laughing with joy and glee. "We can take that as a yes."

"Oh absolutely." Connor agreed over Calista's shoulder.

"Great now we only have to get you both some new clothes to match everything else that's new and this'll all be complete." Cordelia said eagerly.

"New clothes?" asked Calista sounding dazed.

"Yeah, I mean you sweetie only have clothes that were designed for a pregnant woman, not an unfairly skinny teenager. Look at this will you guys just look at this!" Cordelia leaned forward and wrapped her fingers around Calista's waist, "Stick thin with curves, you are a woman's deepest desire and nightmare if it's her friend who has it." Calista squirmed away with a giggle

"Watch it I'm very ticklish!" she exclaimed. "Anyway, when could I go clothes shopping? I have to take care of the babies."

"Oh don't worry mamma bear." Lorne smiled, "Uncle Lorne will take care of any and all tiny tots."

"You will?" Connor looked surprised.

"Well I can't very well go with you shopping now can I kiddo?"

"Good point, oh thank you Lorne, this is so amazing, _you_ guys are so amazing."

"Hey you two deserve it." Gunn smiled broadly

"Totally." agreed Kennedy. Calista was smiling radiantly and she ran a hand through her hair. Cordelia gasped and grabbed her wrist,

"Oh my god! Look at your nails, you are a biter aren't you?" she accused the bewildered teen.

"I sometimes bite my nails if that's what you mean."

"Buffy we need to book this girl a manicure straight away. Look!" Cordelia brandished Calista's hand at the Slayer who gasped in horror.

"Oh absolutely."

"And a haircut." Dawn put in remembering the conversation she'd been having with Calista when she'd gone into labour.

"In fact lets take you to a beauty salon for a full work up!" Buffy clapped her hands.

"Oh we could all go!" Fred exclaimed in delight. All the girls began talking at once as they made plans. The boys were left standing there a tad intimidated. Connor turned to his dad

"Do I really need to go shopping?" Angel just smiled.

* * *

Ok next chapter I will have the babies names up so get reviewing because the more reviews I get the quicker it'll be up.

Night's Darkness


	29. Truth is beauty, Beauty is Truth

Ok, I've finally chosen the names I think were best. A big thanks to the people who gave me the suggestions. Sorry if this seems a little all over the place, I'm struggling to get everything into place.

* * *

**Balance chp 29: Truth is beauty, Beauty is truth**

Calista couldn't sleep; she'd just given the babies their three am feeding and now was wide-awake. Connor was sleeping soundly beside her in their new bed in their new apartment. It was a little way off from the others rooms so no one was bothered by the babies screaming. Calista sighed softly and decided she'd get some warm milk to send herself to sleep. She slipped out of the warm bed and wrapped a borrowed robe around herself, popping a baby monitor into one of the large pockets. She wandered silently downstairs and heated the milk. She then curled up on one of the couches in the lobby to drink it. She suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on edge and knew she wasn't alone.

"You know when I asked you to come here the day we brought the babies home this wasn't quite what I meant." she commented lightly. Spike had the grace to be embarrassed.

"I know I said I'd be here but… it was just too hard."

"Dawn was disappointed you know."

"Yeah I figured she might be." Spike sat down beside her, staring at his shoes. She let the silence draw out for a little while and then said

"You're hiding something from me." Spike looked up sharply. "All of you." she continued, her blue eyes staring into space, her voice soft. "It's something important, something bad."

"Why do you think that?" Spike wondered,

"Because you keep saying things that make no sense. You yourself said that you helped protect my babies, protect them from what? And Angel said that Connor and I slept for several days, but I don't remember it! And my memory seems so blank. I try to remember things and they just aren't there. I don't remember anything at all really. I don't remember where I grew up, or how we lived. I only barely remember Daniel; I just remember he was important to us. I don't remember anything in my life except a few small things." Spike wasn't sure what he should say. "I know one thing. My life was miserable."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because the only things I do remember are good, and you can't have only good in your life, some things are bad, they have to be to have the good. So since I can't find anything bad I know that my life was miserable. The strange thing is that I'm not scared by it. I ought to be, I don't remember my life, that's a frightening thing, but I'm not scared. I'm not angry or sad either, in fact everything's been blissfully happy."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, it's just sad that I needed to forget everything in order to feel it. Bad things have happened to me Spike. What they were I don't know. Was Daniel cruel to me? Did Connor take advantage of me? Are you really good? I don't know any more." She finally looked at him, "But I wish I did. Without knowing these things life has no substance for me. I'm just drifting… just drifting." She sighed and set the mug down, it was now empty. She stood up and said calmly to him, "I'm not going to ask you to come back again… but I wish you would. I like talking to you." She then went upstairs and back to bed curling up against Connor.

* * *

"Oh my god this is the life." groaned Cordelia as skilled hands massaged her back gently. 

"Mm hm." sighed Calista, she sounded half asleep. Buffy just moaned softly as the hands moved down her back.

"After this we're getting our nails done and after our hair."

"Does that mean we have to move?" asked Calista turning her head towards Cordelia.

"Sadly yes, but don't worry Calista, it's not painful."

"Unlike waxing."

"Well you said you'd give it a try."

"But I didn't mean a bikini line!"

"Woops." Buffy grinned sheepishly as Calista laughed. So far they'd been through waxing and now massaging. After they were getting manicures, pedicures and facials done, after which they were getting their hair done. Then they were going to be finishing up their shopping, having still to buy some final things for Calista, like makeup and hair things. The teenage girl had been pampered all day, with all the girls helping her find a style of clothes that she liked and helping her pick out both practical and stylish clothes. They'd even bought a few things that they swore would make Connor do absolutely anything she wanted. She'd been a little embarrassed at the things the girls, particularly Faith, had suggested.

"Hey Faith." called Cordelia, resting her chin on her folded arms, "What's going on between you and Robin?" The dark Slayer looked at her and a very slight tinge of pink appeared in her cheeks.

"Nothing," she said stiffly, "Just, you know, good sex. That's all."

"If that's all then why were you making moon eyes at each other?" Buffy all but purred in delight. It was a very rare thing for Faith to be embarrassed.

"We weren't!" Faith insisted sharply.

"Faith's in love! Faith's in love!" sang Dawn, a broad grin on her face.

"I am not!" Faith sounded like a little girl as she denied it. Calista watched the argument with interest her eyes curious. At length she said softly

"If you don't feel anything for him then why does your heart quicken whenever you see him." They stared at her in surprise. She shrugged, "Vampire hearing is a useful thing at times."

"It does not, unless I'm remembering the moves he's got, and he has them, but they aren't for innocent ears." Faith smirked at Dawn and Calista.

"I'm an innocent? I just had twins." Calista laughed.

"I'm not innocent either." Dawn said. Buffy looked up sharply at her little sister.

"I hope to God you don't mean that as in you are no longer a virgin, because if that's the case you are in big trouble missy!" Dawn rolled her eyes at her sister,

"She's still a virgin Buffy don't worry." Calista murmured as she lay down properly again.

"What you can hear virginity?" asked Faith raising an eyebrow.

"Can you actually do that?" asked Fred.

"I can't, but Dawn smells like a virgin." Calista sounded like she was nearly asleep. Dawn looked torn between embarrassment and disgust. "Ask Angel or Connor if you don't believe me, they're better at scents then me."

"How did you learn to tell the difference?" asked Willow curiously, before she let out a moan of enjoyment as the hands massaged her shoulders. Calista's eyes opened suddenly and she said softly

"I don't remember." Her head raised and she looked at each of them in turn, a kind of lost look in her eyes all of a sudden, then she laid her head down again and closed her eyes again.

* * *

"I still don't see why I need so much stuff." Connor complained. 

"Because baby sick is not pleasant to be wearing." Wesley said patiently, "Believe me, you taught me that." Connor blushed; he still forgot that before Holtz it had been Angel and his friends that had cared for him. He sighed and followed Wesley inside with bags weighing him down. He came to an abrupt stop as he took in the lobby. The place looked like a bomb hit it. The banisters were broken, lamps and computers were smashed, as was the window of Wesley's office and the books were throw all over the ground. And in the middle of all this wreckage sat two men, whose physical appearance belied their age, sharing a bottle of whiskey with seven empty bottles beside them.

"What did you do?" exclaimed Gunn as he entered.

"We sorted out where we stand." cheered Angel, sounding a little tipsy as he raised his glass. Spike let out a chuckle, which set off Angel and soon the two vampires were giggling heaps on the ground.

"Well if you don't clear this up now Calista will make sure you don't have a leg to stand on between you!" Connor moaned as he set down his shopping bags. He was happy to see Spike but honestly! "Where's the babies? Where's Lorne?"

"Who? Oh, uh upstairs, said sumat about a bear… or was it a bare bottom…" Spike blinked as if he couldn't remember. Connor snarled and bolted upstairs, shouting for Lorne. He burst into his apartment,

"Hey, hey whoa kiddo!" exclaimed Lorne as he rocked one of the babies in his arms. "Who lit a blaze under you?" Connor sighed with relief and scooped up the other baby and kissed his brow, holding him close. "Jezz, what's up?"

"Nothing, Dad and Spike, they… they um."

"Got drunk and scared you?" asked the green demon knowingly.

"Yeah." Connor sighed as he sat on the couch.

"Oh don't worry about it, and don't give your old man a hard time either, he and Spiky needed to have it out down there. If you want both without having to hold them back twenty four seven, then they needed to fight and then get drunk."

"But why today?" groaned Connor, "Calista's gonna be back in a few hours and she's gonna freak when she sees the mess. I just wish that it would all clear itself up!" Suddenly he felt a tingle go up his spine and Lorne jumped. They shared at look

"No way." They stood up and walked to the lobby, which was now spotless, with two sober vampires looking a little confused along with several bewildered humans. "Way." gasped Lorne, "Whoa kiddo that was nice!"

"That was you Connor?" asked Wesley

"Seems like it. All I did was say that I wished it would clear itself up." Connor shrugged, the baby still in his arms.

"So what you can suddenly grant wishes?" asked Spike half scornful half hopeful.

"Doubtful, but I'd say some of what ever power I've got is beginning to form."

"How come?"

"It's the knowledge, knowledge is the key to our kind of power."

"So when Calista starts to remember, her own power will be unlocked?"

"I think it already is otherwise she'd never have achieved the Balance."

"Oh so she just can't use it?"

"I'd say so… or maybe it is and we just haven't noticed it yet." He resettled his son so that his head was on his shoulder. Spike grinned and said

"I want my whiskey back!"

"Not a chance Spike! You two had better behave now, I won't have you upsetting Calista with your fights." Connor scolded sharply. Both vampires nodded sheepishly. Connor then smiled, "Welcome back Spike." Spike grinned.

"Thanks mini-poof. Now come down here and show me those babies! I haven't seen them in ages!" Connor and Lorne obliged and the men stood in the lobby talking and passing the babies around. They were still like this when the girls arrived. Kennedy, looking fresh faced and with her hair neatly curled, came in and ordered all the boys to look away.

"Why?"

"Because you idiot, we're not ready for you to see the new Calista, she needs to change!" Kennedy then pointed her finger at them and made circular motions with it. They obligingly turned around and they heard footsteps and giggles as the girls ran inside and up the stairs. When they were gone Gunn grinned down at Baby girl,

"It won't be long till that's you kid." She just stared at him curiously. It was an hour before the girls reappeared. Connor and Gunn had put the babies in carrycots and they were asleep now.

"Ok!" chirruped Dawn, bouncing down the steps, "We are ready." The boys all got to attention looking up at the stairs. Connor, Angel and Spike could hear the girls giggling and whispering to each other quite clearly. Dawn announced each girl and they would come down the stairs, like in a fashion show. The boys were obliging and applauded each. Buffy looked great with her hair layered and full, with light make up and fancy top and jeans. Angel was nearly drooling when she came down. Buffy giggled as she entered the lobby and joined Willow, Anya, Faith, Dawn and Kennedy. Cordelia came next, her short hair freshly highlighted and her clothes showing off her curves. Lastly was Calista and she hung back when Dawn called her. The girls shared a look and Buffy ran up and coaxed her out. It took a while but eventually Buffy came back down and Calista, after a few minutes, shyly came too. The boys all dropped their jaws. They barely recognised her. Her waist length hair was gone, it was just past her shoulders and it was layered and straight. Her skin was smooth and fresh, with a light make up done, pale blue eye shadow and red lipstick. Her clothes were completely different. She wore a pair of dark blue jeans that hugged her long legs and heeled tanned boots. Her top was a sleeveless V-necked lilac top that showed off her bust just enough to tantalise the imagination. She looked amazing and more, she looked her age. She looked like an eighteen year old who was ready to go out. She smiled shyly at them and let her hair fall forwards so she could hide behind it slightly. She looked at Connor and smiled a little wider. Connor just gaped.

"Damn girl you look great!" Gunn managed to say. She giggled a little and smiled bashfully.

"You think so?"

"Absolutely." Wesley nodded vigorously. Angel, Spike and Giles all nodded too.

"Incredible, I wouldn't recognise you." Giles added. "Wouldn't you agree Connor? Connor?" Giles looked at the young man who appeared to have lost all ability to speak. Finally he gasped

"WOW!" The girls all grinned at each other and Calista blushed slightly. She walked up to him, walking with surprising confidence in her heels even though she'd probably never walked in them in her life. Soon they were standing face to face. She let out a breath of a laugh and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear shyly.

"It's different, I know. I just wanted to try it." She shrugged nervously, "Do you really like it?" He slowly smiled,

"Yeah. I love it." he answered. She smiled and kissed him on the lips sweetly. His hand curled around her neck gently and his other hand held hers as he kissed her back. He was oblivious to the giggles and chuckles of the others, all he could think of was his Calista, looking so beautiful. His fingers left her neck and went around her waist to pull her closer.

"Alright junior, calm down!" exclaimed Spike grinning wickedly. They pulled apart and glared at the blonde vampire for a second then they smiled.

"Took you long enough." Calista smirked, as she turned around and leaned back against Connor. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. Spike shrugged,

"I like to do things in my own time."

"Uh uh." she responded dryly. She then smiled down at the babies and left Connor, going to crouch down before them. "Hello little ones, did you miss mummy?" she cooed and kissed each of them on the forehead. She then giggled as she saw that she'd left a lipstick mark on each of them. Connor passed her a wipe and she cleaned it off.

"Hey! These poor kids still ain't got no name!" Spike reminded them. Calista looked at Connor critically.

"You didn't tell them?"

"I wanted to wait." he defended.

"You mean you've named them?" Buffy grinned, they nodded. "Well what did you call them?" Calista reached out and stroked her daughter's cheek

"We've decided to call her Tayen Catherine Angel. I said I wanted something exotic so Tayen was chosen, it's Native American, it means new moon."

"And we knew that Catherine is the name of your sister dad, so we thought we ought to use it and we agreed we'd call them Angel instead of Holtz." Angel swallowed hard, looking near tears as he beamed at the two. The two teens smiled at each other sweetly and then Calista moved her touch to their son.

"This is Liam William Angel." They both looked at the gaping vampires, "We wanted something Irish again to honour that heritage, and English to honour Daniel so William seemed to work." She grinned at them mischievously and they knew she was enjoying their shock. After a few minutes Angel walked over and hugged Connor and then Calista. Then he bent over the twins smiling and said softly

"Well then Tayen Catherine and Liam William, welcome officially to the family."

"Well I'm not sure about Liam, but well chosen on the William." Spike smirked to himself and then gave Wesley a slight shove, "What about you pansy? What do you think?"

"I think that they're all brilliant choices and I am not a pansy Spike!"

"Whatever."

* * *

Connor set Liam down in his bassinette and smiled at the sleeping babe. Calista was sitting in the rocking chair and feeding Tayen. The little girl was sucking greedily and her whole body was scrunched up with effort. Connor sat down on the bed and stared at Calista in a slightly dreamy way. She ignored him till Tayen was finished and settled in her bassinette. She then turned slowly towards him and walked towards him, swinging her hips ever so slightly. He watched her entranced as she reached him and the straddled his lap. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him on the lips softly and sweetly, barely letting them touch. She then pulled away and pushed some of his hair back. Her eyes were strangely sad. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered to her, asking her what was wrong. 

"Bad things have happened to me." she answered eerily "Very bad things, haven't they?" Connor wasn't sure how he was meant to answer the question. "I don't remember enough to count a full life and all I remember is goodness, so everything else must have been bad. Don't lie to me Connor; I don't want any more lies." She looked at him pleadingly. He sighed and bowed his head, resting his forehead against her collar. Finally he looked up at her

"Yes Calista, bad things have happen, lots of bad things. We grew up in hell, tormented by demons and by Daniel." She shook her head to cancel his words and he caught her face in his hand making her look at him. "He was a monster to us, he'd tie me up and leave me and he'd drag you with him. He'd keep you in a cave while he and I went out to hunt demons so that you didn't know if you'd ever see us again. He told us we were evil, that we were destined for damnation."

"Stop! Stop it Connor!" she pleaded sounding close to tears. He hugged her close and said

"I'm sorry but you said no more lies."

"Why can't I remember?" she asked desperately.

"Because Connacht and Calida blocked your memories so that you wouldn't be stressed out by an experience, so that you could be happy for the last few days before the babies were born, to ensure nothing went wrong. They cared for you and the babies and didn't want you to have any complications, not after we spent so long protecting them."

"Protecting them from what?" He sighed and pressed his forehead to hers and whispered simply

"Evil baby." She choked on a sudden sob.

"What kind of evil, I don't understand!"

"Shh." hewatched her entranced as she reached him and the straddled his lap. she ever so slightly. he m seemed to work." murmured and ran his hands up her back and down her arms to sooth her. "You will soon, the magic will slowly fade away, you'll remember everything soon, don't worry." He then hugged her close and lay back so she was lying on top of him. He kissed the top of her head and they lay there all night just holding each other like they used to do in Qour-toth.

* * *

The First Evil was a patient being, It had waited years for this apocalypse, for Kai' Enna to move all her pieces into place, for everything to be ready. And now, because of a few small individuals that had all gone to waste! Those Children of the Vampires were like an overly annoying, plot ruining bunch of mosquito bites that It couldn't scratch. Still It was formidable and now It was pissed. 

"Those Children are going to die one way or the other." It hissed as It stalked around the Hellmouth, "Along with their offspring and their precious Scoobies and Angel Investigations." It surveyed Its massive army and smiled coldly in excitement. It wouldn't be long now. No not long at all.

* * *

Soon, very soon.

Night's Darkness


	30. Doll hunt

I know! I know! I'm way over do but since no one reviewed I wasn't feeling very encouraged, this is a two way system people. Anyway here's another chapter, hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**Balance chp 30: Doll hunt**

"Liam please stop crying!" pleaded a distraught Dawn as she rocked the baby in her arms. His only response was to let out another wail, his little face was red and his hands were splayed dramatically. He was a little ball of fury. "How long does it take for someone like her to run to the shops? She can out run a car!" she asked her sister who was holding a pillow over one ear and her hand was pressed to the other.

"Too long!" she answered. Liam had been screaming when Calista had left the hotel to get some essentials, bread, milk and eggs but she'd said that he'd calm if they rocked him. Dawn's arms were beginning to cramp from the rocking. She'd tried, the Buffy had tried, then Cordelia and then Fred. None of them could figure out what was the matter with the baby. Both Cordy and Fred had tried tricks that had worked for Connor when he was a baby but to no avail Liam just refused to calm. Now, fifteen minutes later, the girls were ready to tear their freshly styled hair out in frustration. To make it worse all the boys were gone doing different things so neither Connor nor Angel nor Spike were around to help. The two vampires had instantly taken a shine to the babies and were masters at making them stop crying. Tayen shifted in Cordelia's arms as she began to wake up. Cordy rocked her quickly hoping she wouldn't wake up properly and start crying too. The baby opened her eyes and looked around curiously… and stayed silent. Cordelia breathed a sigh of relief as she smiled down at the beautiful creature in her arms. She definitely preferred Tayen to her brother at the moment. Suddenly the door of the lobby opened and, like an angel of mercy, Calista came in. She surveyed the room and laughed at the distressed looks on their faces. She set down her bags and then took Liam from Dawn and cooed to him

"What's wrong my little boy? What's the matter?" Whatever it was it must have gone because Liam began to quiet straight away upon hearing his mother's voice. Calista whispered to him and gently bounced him and he fell asleep. She smiled and sat down settling him in her arms a little lower.

"No fair we all tried and she just takes him and he stops!" whined Buffy.

"It's a mother's touch." guessed Fred as Calista curled up a little with her son admiring him as she always did and stroking his fuzzy cheeks. Tayen began to fuss and Cordy quickly passed her to her mother too. She instantly calmed. Calista sighed and stood up slowly. She walked confidently up the stairs with both babies and disappeared with them down the corridor.

"How do you think she's doing?" asked Fred softly once she was out of earshot.

"I think she's doing ok." Willow nodded, although her eyes were anxious. Over the past few days Calista's memory had been slowly returning and she'd been finding it hard to get used to it. Last night she'd remembered a lot of things from Quor-toth that had happened to them and had begun to have a panic attack. Connor had calmed her and whispered to her softly, taking her upstairs once she was calm enough and they were gone the rest of the night, unseen till morning where they'd reappeared, both looking tired and drawn. The others were worried about what would happen once she remembered everything, particularly the stuff about Cordy. How would she react to knowing Connor had unknowingly betrayed her with another woman while she'd been pregnant? How would she feel about Cordy trying to kill her, even though it was only Cordy's body being used not her mind, especially since right now they had formed a very close friendship? These were questions only time could answer but they were all edgy and trying hard to hide it from the distressed new mother. Connor was as stressed as Calista, having to explain everything to her, digging up things he'd rather leave buried, dealing with two demanding babies and a confused mate. He was dealing though by clinging to his father's presence, relying on him to help them, which Angel did with hidden enthusiasm. He enjoyed being needed by his family.

* * *

Calista gasped softly as she suddenly dropped to the ground as her knees buckled. She was thankful she'd already put the babies down in their bassinets as her head swam. A soft moan escaped her pink lips and she leaned forward to rest her forehead on the floor like she was praying. Her eyes misted and her mind took her away from the apartment to another dimension entirely.

_(Flashback)_

"I've told you before Calista do not chase after him!"

Smack! Tears formed in the blue eyes as the cruel hand hit her small form. She gasped and sobbed

"I'm sorry Daniel! I'm sorry!" Smack! The hand hit again. It came down a third time and another sob escaped her. Then the hand descended more gently and stroked her hair away from her face. Then it left her and footsteps moved away from her till even she could only just hear them. She crouched on the ground for a little while till a scent tickled her nose. "Steven?" She didn't want to see him right now; it was because of him she'd been hit. He'd convinced her to play with him, to chase him around. She shouldn't have listened to him; she ought to have turned away. But it had been too tempting, too enticing. She looked up slowly to see Steven watching her anxiously. He twisted the hem of his shirt in his small hands and shuffled his feet nervously.

"Are you alright?" he whispered. She didn't answer, just gingerly patted the place where Daniel's hand had come into contact with her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you in trouble." he said softly coming closer.

"Well you did!" she snapped spitefully, turning her head away from him. She pulled at the hem of her trousers, soon she'd have to wear skirts Daniel said, no girl was meant to wear trousers. Calista didn't want to wear a skirt; it restricted her movements, made it harder to climb the rocks, harder to keep up with the other two, harder to be like them. Steven didn't have to wear skirts, she didn't understand why she did. _'I'm a girl.'_ was the automatic answer but why did girls have to wear them? It made no sense to the seven year old. She reached out and searched for her doll. Closing her fingers around the familiar shape she held the doll, Ester, close. She'd named the doll after a woman in the bible who was brave and had risked her life for her people. Calista wanted to be brave like Ester. She buried her face in the ragged leather, letting her tears drop onto it, she was still sore and wished Steven would leave her alone. He didn't leave though. He stayed standing where he was and didn't seem inclined to budge. She ignored him hoping he would eventually leave.

"Calista please talk to me." Steven begged coming closer.

"NO! Go away Steven just leave me alone! I don't want to talk to you!"

"But Calista-" he touched her hair and she flinched away snarling

"Get away! I don't want to talk to you at all! Get away Steven! I hate you! I hate you!"

_(End Flashback) _

"_I hate you!" _

The words echoed within her mind and she pressed a hand to her forehead.

"_I hate you!" _

She'd been young and silly, upset over nothing, but she couldn't help but wonder just how truthful those words were. Had she hated that boy in her memory? Had she hated her mate, even if it was only for a short time? If so… was that hatred still harboured?

"Calista? Are you ok?"

_Oh God no! Not now!_ She raised her head and stared at him wide eyed. He was staring at her with concern and obvious love. She couldn't help it; she burst into tears. Big fat tears ran down her cheeks and she buried her face in her hands bending over again. Her whole body shook with misery and frustration.

"Hey. Hey. What's wrong?" his hands were on her back, rubbing it. His lips caressed the back of her neck.

"I hate this!" she cried, "I hate getting my memories back! They're all jumbled and I don't know how to handle them."

"You're doing fine Calista, really you are." he assured her. She sobbed harder. "What did you remember this time?" he asked patiently.

"I, I remembered that I said I hate you."

"What do you mean?" She looked up at him and told him about the memory. He smiled tenderly at her and made her stand up, hugging her. "Oh Calista you're only seeing a part of the story." He led her to the couch and pulled her onto his lap. "Let me tell you what happened next."

_(Flashback)_

Steven stared at Calista in shock and horror at her words.

"You don't mean that!" he exclaimed.

"Yes I do!" she retorted with little conviction.

"I'm sorry about what happened, but it isn't my fault that you're a girl. Father says girls don't do things like climb trees or crawl on rocks."

"Well you told me I wouldn't get in trouble for it and I believed you!"

"I said I'm sorry!"

"I don't care!" The girl before him was clutching her doll tightly and it made him reach for his own rag doll. Solomon was his closest companion next to Calista and he carried him everywhere stuffed down the back of his trousers and under his shirt to hide him from his father who said he was too big for him now. Calista got to keep Ester because father said that was all right, girls were meant to play with dolls, boys weren't. He groped for the familiar feel of the doll and his eyes widened in horror when he couldn't feel it.

"Solomon!" he cried whirling around and searching frantically for him. "Where are you?" he called urgently, going on hands and knees, searching desperately.

"What's wrong?" Calista asked curious despite herself.

"Solomon's gone!" Steven cried horrified. "He's not here!"

"Where else could he be?"

"No where! I put him in my trousers this morning!"

"Well could he have slipped out? While you were running?"

"Oh no! He'll be scared out there all alone!" Steven's eyes welled with tears at the thought. At once she moved to his side and hugged him, all anger forgotten.

"Don't worry we'll find him, you can track your own scent now, so we'll be able to retrace your steps." Wiping his eyes Steven looked at her hopefully.

"You think we can find him?"

"If we don't you can share Ester with me." She smiled and he smiled shakily back, "Now let's hurry before Daniel comes back."

They searched for hours trying to retrace Steven's steps and hiding from the different demons that patrolled the barren wasteland.

"We'll never find him!" Steven wailed sounding desperate, throwing himself on the ground. Calista chewed on her lips and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him.

"I don't hate you Steven." she whispered.

"What?" he looked at her bewilderedly

"Before, I said I hated you, I don't really." She smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

"Calista! Yuck!" Steven wiped his cheek in disgust but she smiled at him even more. Suddenly she turned her head raising her nose, sniffing the air. She let go of her companion and crawled, almost on her belly, along the ground, disappearing behind a rock.

"Calista?" Steven called worriedly. She didn't answer and he sat up straighter, stretching his neck to try and see her. "Calista?"

"Calista! You should be calling for me!" A put on gruff voice answered, and a small hand gripping a familiar doll shot out from behind the rock, the leather legs brushed the ground and it bounced around a little, giving the illusion of life. "You leave me here all day, having to lie and wait for you, and you call Calista instead of me? Oh I ought to box your ears!" The voice and movements of the doll made Steven laugh and he scrambled forwards to take the doll and hug him.

"Solomon!" Calista popped up from behind the rock and smiled,

"I thought I whiffed something foul. It had to be him." Smiling Steven raised the doll and deepened his own voice.

"Foul smell! Forget Steven, it's your ears that need boxing! Foul smell I ask you?" The words became incomprehensible muttering and they both then laughed. She reached out and took Steven's hand.

"Calista!" he whined and pulled his hand free. She sighed but smiled fondly. Steven suddenly gasped in horror. "It's so late! Father will box both our ears!" She gave him a horrified look and they both began to run across the lifeless land and Steven grabbed her hand to speed her up when she lagged behind.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Daniel roared in fury.

"We, we were-"

"We lost something and had to find it."

"Lost what?"

"A doll." she answered cryptically

"You lost Ester?" Daniel's voice became softer now. She nodded quickly before Steven could correct her.

"I know we shouldn't have been out there so long but I need Ester to sleep at night. I'm sorry Daniel." She prepared herself for the blows but they didn't come. Instead Daniel's eyes became misty and he said

"Go to bed." softly turning away from them and sitting near the fire staring at it but not seeing it as he was lost in thought. They obeyed his words and both went to bed without another word.

_(End Flashback)_

"You found Solomon for me, you risked getting in trouble with Daniel for me." He smiled at her and cupped her face in his hands. She smiled back and he kissed her lips.

"I still have Ester." she whispered.

"Oh?"

"Mm-hm, in the bag's secret pocket." She moved from him and took out the bag she'd carried everything she owned in for six months. She opened a hidden pocket and pulled out a ragged, limp, fur covered doll. X's made eyes, the only facial feature on it. A few straggles of long thing pieces of leather made hair. She held it in her hands and then clutched it to her chest. Connor smiled and hugged her and the doll. She tucked her head under his chin. She wrinkled her nose and whispered

"She stinks." Connor laughed,

"She does." he agreed.

"What happened to Solomon?" Connor's smile turned down a notch,

"I lost him in the Apocalypse, The Beast wrecked my place and I never got a chance to go and see if he was still there."

"Do you think he might be?" He shook his head,

"I don't know." She smiled and stroked his face,

"Why don't we go and see."

"But the babies…" She looked at the bassinettes and her smile fell a notch.

"Oh yeah." she said as if she'd forgotten about them. "I guess we can go another time, we already had Cordy and the others minding them earlier, it wouldn't be fair to do it again."

"Yeah." Connor hid his disappointment. She smiled at him again and then held up Ester,

"I think she needs a clean."

"She could fall apart if you wash her."

"True." She sighed and then said, "Let's keep her here." She put the doll in a drawer beside the bed and locked it. "I can put my diaries there when you give them back to me." She smirked as the colour drained from his face, "Oh yeah I remembered them."

"Well I only, see what happened was-"

"You read my diaries and panicked because of what you saw in them and hid them away." she stated, smirking broadly.

"Only because I didn't want you getting upset."

"I understand baby, but I want them back." He shifted on his feet and her gaze became stern. "Connor I want them back now."

"Ok, I'll get them, wait here." He hurried out and she smiled at her triumph. She went and sat at the kitchen table and drew a book to her with a pen. She opened it and wrote down something in it. As she closed it again Connor returned sheepishly, with her diaries in his hands. She smiled at him and took them from him and along with the other one from the table she put them in the same drawer as Ester, locking it and putting the key away.

"What's the other one? A new diary?"

"Sort of. I've been writing the memories and the feelings they bring down so I can analyse them properly."

"Does it help?"

"I think so. It helps me keep a clear head." She smiled at the slight pun. "I got something while I was out today."

"Oh?"

"Two baby books, one for Liam and one for Tayen. I want to record everything down, including comments and messages we want them to read when they're older."

"You really like keeping records." Connor smirked.

"Well I like being organised, you know that." She shrugged.

"Are you going to catalogue Calida's memories too?"

"Of course and I want to note down things like spells to use. We have so much knowledge in here Connor," she pointed to her head, "we need to use it to help Angel and the others fight the good fight."

"No fight is good." Connor replied.

"I know that but ever since you told me that I was an Angel of Balance-"

"Not _an_ angel _the_ angel."

"Yes right anyway, ever since you told me I feel a need to continue its work."

"How does helping one side continue the Balance?"

"Because evil is so much larger, good has entered a period where it is the struggling side, evil on the other hand is having an easy time of it at the moment. Helping Angel and the others will keep things balanced I believe." His face clouded and he turned away from her,

"You really want to keep fighting?" she came closer to him but didn't touch him.

"Oh I know you're tired Connor, but you don't need to fight, and if you do you're no longer alone in doing it." He looked at her carefully, "But I never got to fight the evil, I never got to prove myself as a warrior."

"But you're not a warrior Calista, you're a carer and a healer."

"But my heart is one of a warrior."

"No it isn't Calista, you're heart is one of a mother and judge and that's one of the things that makes you so amazing to me. You were always so sweet and gentle, even when I knew you were angry or hurting."

"But-" he grabbed her arms tightly

"No listen to me, you are not a warrior, you are a judge, and you deal punishments accordingly, but you have a mind of your own, the fact that you want to keep the Balance shows that. A warrior follows orders and just does his duty." She looked at him bewilderedly. "You decide who is guilty, and what they deserve, you don't just react with violence like a warrior would. That's the difference. I am your warrior because I deal the punishments that you dictate."

"Connor you're not making any sense."

"You'll understand soon. I promise."

"I want to, there's so much I want to understand. I want to understand our existence."

"Run that by me again?" Connor stared at her in bewilderment.

"I want to know why we exist. Why we are here. Aren't you curious?"

"Not really. I just know I was conceived of hatred not love."

"All I know is what you and the others have told me. That I was created to be a vessel for you and the Powers." Connor blushed when she brought him into the equation. "But why?"

"To stop the evil."

"But the evil could never have happened without you, without you I would never have existed, so I want to understand how you came to be."

"The other Children of Vampires were conceived because their parents had souls. Maybe because Angel had a soul he could…" Connor squirmed in embarrassment, he wasn't enjoying this conversation.

"But Darla didn't have a soul, and if having a soul could allow him to have a child… then why did Buffy not get pregnant after they slept together?"

"I don't know!" Connor was blushing furiously, wishing she'd stop.

"I know that sometimes it can take more then one try… but still why with Darla?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know!"

"Why not?"

"Because I just don't! It's meaningless how we were created because we were both created to be pawns for selfish beings, we shouldn't care how we are here, we should concentrate on living lives to the full."

"Oh I will, I just need to know." She had a determined look in her eyes. "I will find out everything. I must learn more."

"And you will once Calida's memories are integrated into your mind."

"Maybe, but she might not have all the answers, Connacht doesn't know or you would."

"As far as I'm concerned that's a good thing!" she sighed, no doubt at his stubbornness. She then walked into the nursery. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get some bottles ready for the twins." she exclaimed impatiently, holding up the breast pump. Connor decided that was his cue to leave. There were some things you just couldn't watch and this was one of them.

"I'm gonna see what's for dinner." She smiled at him fondly and then shook her head in amusement.

"Boys." she sighed, unbuttoning her blouse.

* * *

Hee, got that last bit from watching Friends

Night's Darkness


	31. Distressing touches

Well only three chapters left including this one. That's right I have finished! What a relief. If you want to see the end you must review. Seriously, I'm feeling unloved :-(

* * *

**Balance chp 31: Distressing touches **

It'd been four weeks since the babies were born and everything seemed quiet. Buffy and the other Scooby's were getting restless, wanting to return to Sunnydale. Buffy knew that The First was still there and wanted to make sure it wouldn't rear its ugly non-corporeal head. Angel wanted to go with her but she wanted him to stay put.

"Buffy let me go with you." he persisted.

"Angel no, I need you to stay here. If something happens and I fall then you're the second line." Buffy argued feeling annoyed, this argument was an on going one.

"Then stay here and let the others handle it, Faith can lead them-"

"This is my call, my team, I'm not gonna leave them." Angel sighed in frustration.

"Ok, ok." He gave in, "I'm obviously not going to convince you to stay, but…"

"But?" she prompted, folding her arms.

"I… look let me take you out to dinner, tonight." Angel said it in a rush. She blinked, surprised.

"You mean like on a date?" he shifted from foot to foot.

"Well… yeah." She pursed her lips and then said

"Ok then."

"Good, uh there's this little Chinese restaurant I know, it's nice, pretty."

"Right, what time."

"I booked it for seven, is that ok, I can change it, it's just the sun will be just down around then."

"No that's fine." It gave her three hours to get ready. "Uh well, I'm gonna…" she pointed upstairs walking backwards.

"Yeah sure, uh, till later then." Angel shuffled his feet and Buffy nodded, turned and walked away. Angel sighed and then stiffened as he heard a snigger behind him.

"Wow dad, you're a regular smoothie." Connor laughed.

"Bite me." Angel smirked. Connor smirked,

"No thank you, I prefer something that's been gutted and hung for a while." Angel grimaced, his son sometimes had a wicked sense of humour, especially since Connacht's memories entered the scene. "So what's with all the romance?"

"Just want to take her out like a normal boyfriend would, you should try it." Connor smirked

"Yeah I can picture it, fancy food, candles, soft music, screaming twins on the side. Yeah romantic."

"Connor you've got over ten baby sitters willing to mind Liam and Tayen."

"But they're ours dad, our responsibility, we can't keep loading them off on you guys, we're their parents."

"Yeah but even parents need a break."

"No it's too soon, they're only a month old. I'm worried as it is." Connor grimaced like he hadn't meant to let that slip.

"About what?"

"Nothing, never mind."

"No, c'mon Connor you can tell me." Angel put his hand on his bony shoulder and Connor sighed,

"It's just… ok, I know she loves them with all her heart, but I just think Calista's beginning to resent them." That was the last thing Angel had expected,

"Why? I haven't noticed anything that would indicate that."

"Well she keeps saying lets go out and do this, lets go out and do that, then I have to remind her that we can't because of the babies and one of us will have to mind them. She always gets this look on her face when I say it, it makes me nervous."

"She wouldn't hurt the babies."

"I know I know that!" Connor exclaimed, "But I don't want her to hate them or even resent them."

"She doesn't I'm sure, but I have heard that some new mums can be like this, I think it's called post-natal depression. She'll get over it I'm sure."

"But dad, couple it with the memories, and the fact that this is really the first chance she has to really get out there and explore the world and can't you see why I'm worried?" Angel thought about it and saw what he meant; Calista could easily feel that the babies were her prison keepers, holding her in the hotel.

"When did you notice this?"

"About two weeks ago, she said we should go out and I reminded her about the babies and she just seemed to only remember them then. She was excited and then… she just deflated. I don't want her to be miserable because she has to care for the babies. I'm helping but I know she doesn't think I'm doing enough."

"I'm sure she-"

"No I know she feels like I'm being unfair in how I help with them, but that's probably only because I wasn't there for her when she was pregnant. She's so confused and scared because of all the memories that I don't think she knows what she feels for anything or anyone."

Angel hugged his son and said

"Don't worry Connor, everything will be alright. I'm sure it will, it'll just take a while." he said soothingly and truthfully. Connor sighed and nodded. "Now I don't want to be rude but I need to get ready." Connor grinned and nodded in understanding. Angel smiled back and hurried upstairs, mentally running through everything he owned to figure out what he was going to wear. Connor smiled after him and then sighed as the baby monitor he had clipped to his belt gave a familiar cry. Feeding time for the twins. Calista was lying down with a headache and Connor had promised to take care of the babies without her. He hurried up the steps and ran to the room before Calista got annoyed. He found her on the bed staring at the ceiling, her eyes open wide and horrified, still as a statue. He looked from the babies to her and back. He quickly went in and picked Liam up. He grabbed the bottle and put it into the hungry baby's greedy mouth. He suddenly flashed back to Anya's statement about babies and doing nothing but cry, eat and poop. It was certainly true enough. Tayen was silent, she was the quieter of the two and she seemed to know when patience was key. For a month old baby she had odd little habits like only giving one cry and then going silent. Liam on the other hand just screamed till someone attended to him. Liam thankfully finished quickly and Connor rubbed his back carefully to get his wind up, all the while watching Calista who looked like she'd been petrified. Her eyes weren't focused and they weren't blinking. He was very worried and accessed Connacht's memories for guidance. The memories were sorted like computer files, all Connor needed to do was access it. He skimmed through everything that might have relevance but nothing jumped out at him. Liam burped and then promptly fell asleep. Awed by his son's ability to just conk out like that, Connor then fed Tayen. Her eyes were electric or icy blue like his own and stared at him curiously as she sucked on the bottle. He smiled down at her and sat down on the rocking chair, from there he could see Calista, still unmoving, on the bed. He knew he ought to check on her but he couldn't let the babies go hungry. He could have asked for help but it was too late now. Tayen finished and he burped her and then set her back in her crib. He then walked straight over to Calista and bent over her. She didn't seem aware of him or anything around her. Her eyes were staring at something he couldn't see. Now very worried he touched her cheek to see if she had a temperature or if she was cold.

_A woman screamed as a dark man loomed over her, tearing at her clothes. _

_A boy cried as his mother locked him in the closet._

_A man yelled in agony, as he was shot in the back by an army solider. _

_A teenage girl sobbed as other girls pulled her hair and kicked her viciously, tearing her school uniform._

_A mother clutched her children and sobbed as her sister advanced with a knife stained with the blood of her husband. _

_A wife entered her bedroom to find her husband on top of a twenty year old blond._

Connor yanked his hand away in horror, he'd seen all that in a split second, Calista was relieving being Balance, she was seeing all the evil in the world that had been occurring in the few moments of time that she'd been the angel that had destroyed Kai' Enna. He ran out of the room and banged on the first door he came to.

"Go away!" yelled Faith "We're busy."

"Faith I need help!" Connor cried, "Get off of Robin now! Calista's reliving all the evil Balance saw in the minute she was it. She's catatonic." He heard Faith swear and then a few minutes later she opened the door in her bra and jeans. Connor barely noticed in his panicked state.

"She's out of it?" Faith asked irritably.

"Ye-" A scream echoed through the hotel, coming from Connor's apartment. "Calista!" Connor ran back into the room to find his mate screaming and writhing on the bed, trying to escape the images that plagued her, she was crying and her tears became bloody as they ran over the cuts she'd created on her face with her nails. Liam was crying over her, frightened by all the noise. Connor ran over to his mate and tried to hold her down.

_A drug addict threatened the dealer with a gun, demanding the drugs. _

_A boy watched as his father shot his dog. _

_A girl fought tears as she was forced to marry a man she didn't even know. _

_A man whimpered as another man slashed his skin with a scalpel. _

_A girl lunged at her old grandmother with a knife and stabbed her._

_A virgin, tied to a stone slab, screamed as a robed man brought down a knife._

_A vampire pinned its victim to the wall of the alleyway and drank deep._

Connor released Calista like she burned him, he gasped for air as he tried to fight the horror he felt. So much evil, so much pain. Humans hurting humans. Demons, monsters, evil!

"Connor?" Fred came up to him and touched his shoulder.

"She's seeing evil in all its forms!" he cried hysterically. "Children crying, women bleeding, men dying! Oh God! Oh God!" He tore at his hair and tried to banish the memories from his mind.

"Calm down Connor. She'll be ok."

"How can she? You have no idea, no idea!" he shouted, completely overcome. Willow reached out to try and still Calista who was clawing at her skin, "DON'T TOUCH HER!" he screamed, "You'll see what she sees. Oh God!" he called again. Willow quickly drew her hand back more out of fear of him then anything else. He felt strong arms wrap around him and a familiar scent filled his nose. Dad! Dad was holding him close, rocking him like he was a baby and for once Connor didn't care. He clung to his dad and watched in horror as Calista continued to scream. He wanted to stop it but he couldn't, this was it. After this all memories, be they Calista's, Calida's or Balance's would be there in her mind forever. He drew in shaky breaths and then heard Willow chant something, a spell, a spell of immobility. Calista's limbs snapped together and she froze like a statue, her mouth snapped shut and her screams were muffled. Her eyes were the only thing she could move, they rolled around in her head, frightening him deeply. She looked like a maniac. Connor clung to his dad harder, overwhelmed by what he'd seen in a few seconds.

"When you say evil in all its forms, what does that mean exactly?" asked Xander nervously

"Everything! Every kind of evil, rape, sacrifice, bullying, vampires, all of it not just big things, small things too, affairs, drugs."

"All in the minute or two she was Balance?" asked Fred.

"It's a big world, with 4 billion people in it, that's a lot of evil." Angel said darkly.

"But won't she see the good too?"

"Yes, she should, but only after seeing all the evil."

"Then it balances itself out. Pardon the pun." Wesley said logically.

"Yes, but all that evil…" Connor swallowed hard. Buffy stood near Calista and slowly reached out and touched her cheek, "DON'T!" Too late Buffy gasped and tore her hand away. She shivered and whispered

"Oh God."

"He's not going to help us." Connor hissed spitefully.

"Shh Connor shh." Angel said softly. Suddenly Calista stopped screaming and her frozen body seemed to relax. They watched her anxiously, and then a strange sound came from her frozen lips. Connor realised it was a giggle. He reached out, ignoring his dad and touched her hand.

_A young woman shrieked in delight as her boyfriend presented her with a ring. _

_An old man smiled as a little boy helped him across the street. _

_A man passed out food to starving children and they spoke grateful words to him. _

_A woman held her newborn baby in her arms and smiled. _

_A girl helped her friend with her homework._

_A father played with his children while the mother took pictures. _

Connor smiled in relief and reluctantly took his hand away.

"It's ok now, she's seeing good alone. It's incredible." Angel reached out and took her hand. He smiled at once. Buffy did the same. Soon they were all trying to touch Calista to see the good in the world. Connor saw Liam being held in Cordelia's arms and smiled. He went and saw that his daughter was still in her crib, staring at the ceiling, wide eyed and awake. He grinned and scooped her up. She made a soft noise as if happy and he rested her head on his shoulder. He didn't need to see any more good, he saw it in his family all the time. He sat in the chair and held his daughter. Suddenly a confused Calista said

"Uh guys? Why are you touching me?"

* * *

Silly little thing that needed to happen, next two chapters will come up once I get a review.

Night's Darkness


	32. Romance and friendships

Thank you to RabidRabbit for your review, one chapter down, one to go :-)

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**Balance chp 32: Romance and Friendships**

"So what's all this about? And before you say a thing if you are going to try to convince me to stay then I'll leave. With a goodie bag." Angel smiled and shook his head.

"I won't try to convince you to stay, I know when you've made your mind up there's no changing it."

"Good." Buffy smirked triumphantly. Angel once again noted that she looked beautiful. Her hair was in a bun with Chinese hair sticks in it, and her clothes were perfect on her slim form. "So if that wasn't the reason then what was?"

"I just wanted to talk." He slid his hand along the smooth table and let his fingertips play with hers.

"Anything in particular?"

"Us mostly." She smiled.

"Oh?"

"Buffy… you know that I love you right?" she set down her fork and nodded.

"Yes."

"But again I'm wondering what kind of future we have."

"Oh." Buffy tried not to feel annoyed as the same old problem reared its ugly head.

"I mean, we can't even… not without Angelus rearing his handsome head." Angel gave her an easy smile. She found herself smiling back. "The thing is, I want you in my life, I should never have let you out of it." Now she was interested.

"I want to be in your life Angel, you know I do."

"Are you sure? Even with all the issues we have including my brand new grandchildren?"

"They're a bonus, and so is Connor." Angel smiled broadly and then bit his lower lip as if nervous.

"So… you wouldn't mind if I…" he stood up and walked over to her, and went down on one knee before her. Buffy thought her heart just stopped. "did this?"

"Uh…" she was lost for words. He reached into a pocket and drew out a small box.

"Buffy Anne Summers… will you marry me?" he opened the box. There, nestled in the dark blue velvet, was a ring. It had a silver band and a topaz diamond on it. She gaped at it, it was so beautiful, she'd been expecting… well she wasn't sure what she'd been expecting.

"Oh Angel…" she felt light headed and then she nodded, "Yes, absolutely, of course I will." He smiled and took the ring out, and then lovingly slipped it on her ring finger. She flashed back to the time when he'd done that before, with the claddagh ring. She felt tears of joy in her eyes and she grabbed his head and kissed him passionately. As they pulled away he grinned and asked,

"Dessert?"

"Absolutely." Angel sat back down. "I'm still going you know."

"I know, but this gives you a reason to come back."

"I don't need any more of a reason then you." She observed the ring that sparkled on her finger, it felt perfect there, like it belonged there. Just like she belonged with her Angel.

* * *

"You know, I can't help but wonder if you had a personality transplant a few years ago." Cordelia rolled her eyes at the blond vampire who was staring at her, eyes narrowed.

"I can't help wonder if you lost your manhood a few years ago, time was you'd be trying to kill me and yet here you are changing diapers." Spike smirked at her as he finished wiping Liam's bottom. He couldn't deny that.

"Well one thing hasn't changed, you're as gorgeous as ever princess." She smirked

"And you're as bleached as ever."

"Oh that's nice, try to give a girl a compliment and she insults you, that's real nice."

"Coming from you, he who fell for Buffy, I don't consider it much of one."

"Oh, so old rivalries still continue."

"So it would seem." She picked up Tayen and sat her in her carrycot. As she bent down to do so she could feel Spike's eyes boring into her. She found herself enjoying the attention; it made her feel like the old Cordelia again, when she used to have boys all over her. She straightened up and turned around. "You might want to watch out, little boys have a habit of-" Too late! Liam decided his cousin needed a shower and let 'er rip. Spike groaned in dismay as it got on his shirt.

"Bollocks!" he cursed.

"Hey, hey, no cursing in front of the babies, Angel, Connor and Calista have told you that before." She wagged her finger at him. "Finish him up, I'll get you a shirt." She walked away smiling in amusement.

"Nothing belong to peaches, you hear me cheerleader." She waved her hand at him dismissively, going upstairs and into Spike's room. She noted the absolute mess around the place with a wrinkled nose. Going to the pile of clothes at the foot of the bed she gingerly picked at it to find a shirt that was relatively clean. She found one near the bottom and pulled it out. Holding it between her thumb and forefinger she brought it downstairs.

"Here you go. There's nothing peachy about it." She tossed it at him and it landed on his head. He pulled it off his head and then took the other one off tossing it aside. "That better be going in the wash." she warned

"Keep your shirt on princess I'll do it." She observed the toned chest and the six-pack stomach with interest. Spike noticed her observing and smirked broadly,

"Wandering eyes? Not like daddy's little girl." he teased. She returned the smirk,

"Not like momma's boy to watch daddy's little girl's ass."

"No cursing in front of the tots luv, haven't Mini-poof, Calista and Peaches warned you?" he mock scolded.

"I'm not talking to them." Cordelia was enjoying the banter with Spike. He was obviously enjoying it too. He strode up to her until they were almost nose to nose. She didn't move, very much aware of his closeness. He had nice eyes, she noted, very nice eyes. They darkened suddenly and she noted that the pupils dilated.

'_Hmm…'_ She leaned a little closer, getting a whiff of his scent, it was nice, musky, but nice. Suddenly a giggle broke the electric tension between them. They looked up to see Calista giggling at them.

"Don't you have something to do mummy?" Cordelia asked snippily. Calista blushed and came down. She busied herself with the babies, avoiding their eyes. Observing her Cordelia thought she looked older, and yet unburdened, as if the memories didn't weigh on her like they did with Connor. She kept sneaking looks and then giggling. Connor came wandering up from the basement, followed by Giles, and Willow.

"What were you three up to down there?"

"We were just trying out some spells Connor had in his mind." Willow answered quickly. She was useless at keeping secrets, they were up to something, it was obvious. Cordelia wondered if she could get it out of them. Connor walked over to Calista and wrapped his arms around her, leaning his head against hers.

"Where's Buffy and Angel?"

"Out on a date."

"Dad's up to something." Connor said matter of factly. "I know it."

"Like what?" Connor grinned at them

"Oh I shall not say." he said, "But rest assured it is a matter of great importance, if I am right, which I believe I am."

"Wow, two hours with Giles and you're talking like Shakespeare." Calista laughed. Connor sat on the ground and pulled her onto his lap.

"What about Xander and Anya? I saw them leave too."

"I think Xander wanted to talk to her about something."

"And Faith and Robin?"

"Same thing."

"Let me guess so are Fred and Wes. Hey that rhymes!" Calista smiled.

"Yeah… did someone drop a bottle of love gas or something around here?"

"Not guilty. I don't need it." Connor gave Calista a bear hug as he spoke. She giggled like a schoolgirl.

"Don't look at me. I've been up to my eyeballs in baby things."

"Must be some post-apocalyptic thing." Cordelia shrugged. "Hey, where's Dawn and Andrew…" she dropped her jaw and shook her head. Connor and Calista both nodded. "No."

"Oh yes, although Dawn didn't look overly interested." Calista shrugged.

"Oh thank God the world hasn't turned on its head." She put a hand to her heart as she breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief. They laughed in amusement. Connor sniffed the air,

"You know the whole point of changing a baby is so that you can throw the dirty nappy out."

"We were getting to that, and for the record this is your bloody job!"

"Spike I won't warn you again!" Calista scolded.

"What? Oh come on! I can't even say blo-"

"Spike…" she interrupted warningly. Spike gaped at her, realising she wasn't kidding and bit on his lip to fight the curses that sprang to them. He groaned and snatched up the nappies and walked away.

"You just know he only did that so he could curse." Connor smiled in amusement.

"Duh Connor!" Cordelia chuckled to herself. She picked up the finished Liam and set him beside his sister where he promptly fell asleep. "You know I'm starting to think that this little guy does all the sleeping for both of them, she never seems to sleep."

"She does sleep, but she's much more alert then Liam is I'll agree." Calista said. "I can't wait to see what they're like when they're older."

"I can't imagine them being any older then they are now." Connor smiled at them tenderly. She smiled in agreement. Suddenly the door opened and Dawn and a despondent Andrew came in. She looked frazzled and he looked like he'd had his heart crushed.

'_Shesh! Talk about drama queen.'_ Cordelia thought to herself. Andrew was making puppy eyes at Dawn who was ignoring him and greeting Connor, Calista and the babies. Andrew went towards the kitchen and Cordelia found herself following him. He was pulling out flour, eggs, sugar, all the things one would need for a cheering up cake.

"Hey you can't be that miserable, but if you are can you make that cake chocolate?" she said, he jumped in surprise and then he nodded, his eyes extremely sad. She felt bad and tried to cheer him up. "Come on, there'll be other girls." His brow furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean other girls?"

"You know, don't be so down that Dawn rejected you, I'm sure you'll find some Trekkie girl who doesn't mind dressing up and going to conventions looking like those green-skinned sluts."

"Orion slave girls." he corrected automatically, "Or their also called Orion animal women sometimes, they're supposed to be irresistible, no man can refuse them, except Captain Pike when Vina tried to seduce him by posing as an Orion woman in-"

"Hey Chihuahua, I don't actually care." he deflated again and said

"Yeah I know, but I wasn't asking Dawn out on a date… well I was but not for the reason you think. I was asking her if she thought I could ever become a Watcher like Mr. Giles. She said no." Cordelia pursed her lips sympathetically, "She said I'd probably just end up in jail or dead, lets face it I deserve it."

"Hey now come on-"

"No, I do I did bad things, hurt a lot of people, killed the best friend I ever had and all so that I could what? I don't even remember why I did it all." Cordelia shrugged helplessly, she had nothing to say to that. Why was she even talking to him? What force had compelled her to go up to him and try to consol him? He sighed and busied himself with his baking and she slipped away gratefully. She wondered whether Dawn was right to be so harsh. From what she'd heard Andrew hadn't been a good guy, in fact he'd been a serious pain in the ass for Buffy and the others. Now, though… should he be given a chance? He seemed genuine about his desire to become a Watcher (and at the thought she flashbacked to the Wesley she'd first met and simply switched the bodies and got a good idea of what he'd be like) so shouldn't he be able to give it a shot? Especially when the council had been blow to bits by The First and they'd need new Watchers. She sighed, and went back out to the lobby where Dawn and Calista were chatting, with Connor getting a glazed look in his eyes as he sat under Calista since she was still in his lap. Spike was standing aloof from the group, fiddling with a cigarette packet although clearly not brave enough to try and light one with Calista nearby. She'd decapitate him before he could say any kind of swear. Dawn and Calista burst into giggles and Calista wrapped her arm around Connor's skinny shoulders. He really needed to put on some weight, and as far as Cordelia was concerned Calista needed to eat more too, she was so skinny. In the beauty salon she'd noticed the girl's ribs were eerily visible and had made it her mission to put a little meat on her, especially since she was breast feeding and would loose a lot of weight just through that. Suddenly Calista looked at her and her smile turned down a notch. Cordelia shifted nervously and knew that she was about to have _that_ talk when the teen stood up. She walked straight up to her and said

"Can I talk to you Cordy?" She nodded after a slight hesitation and the two walked out into the little garden. The sweet scent of jasmine filled her nose and it soothed her nerves. Calista sat on the bench after checking to make sure that it was relatively clean. Cordelia did the same and sat down, clasping her hands together over her legs. They sat in silence for many minutes, Calista's eyes swept over the garden several times and then she leaned forward and plucked a spring of jasmine from the bush of it and twirled it in her fingertips, lightly pressing the flowers to her face. Cordelia waited patiently for her to speak, trying hard to sit still.

"What was it like Cordy?" she whispered. Cordelia frowned in confusion. Calista looked at her carefully, "What was it like to be possessed by that Power that Was?" Taken aback by the question it took her a minute to answer. Finally she said softly

"It was like a nightmare. I watched my hands choke life from innocent people, I felt my lips manipulate my friends, and I was trapped, unable to do anything to stop it."

"Unable to stop Connor from falling for you." Calista said softly. She bowed her head, the jasmine spinning so fast between her forefinger and thumb it was a blur. Cordelia looked away in shame. It was so hard to look at either her or Connor because of that. "I wish I could say it doesn't bother me Cordy, I really do. I like you Cordelia, I want us to be friends." Feeling emboldened Cordelia reached out and took the pale hand that lay on the lean leg and held it in her own.

"I want to be friends with you Calista." she said honestly, "I wish I could take away that night, it could have prevented a lot of pain for all three of us."

"I know, I just can't stand that he slept with your body." Cordelia grimaced at her choice of words. "The fact that he was willing to is the hardest part."

"I wouldn't say willing exactly. She manipulated him into falling for her, used his fear to coerce him into her bed."

"But that can only be taken so far, can't it? I mean I don't know, it just seems to me that it doesn't matter how much manipulation you use on a man, he's still the one in control in many ways. Women are the recipients of love making, not the other way round. He's still got to be willing, still has to want to do it otherwise he wouldn't." That sounded like very old-fashioned thinking to Cordelia; modern in the fact that she was questioning it, and yet old-fashioned because she saw things that way. Cordelia thought carefully about what this girl's upbringing must have been like, the only girl, with a man from an age when women didn't even have rights, who would have taught her this way no doubt. There was a slight element of truth in it she supposed, women were the recipients, but that didn't mean they weren't in control, they just did it differently. Something about the questions made her wonder just how Connor and Calista had finally come to… conceiving the twins. She hoped Connor hadn't coerced her into anything, she doubted it but there was a tiny speck of her that wondered.

"Not these days though sweetie, magic, drugs, drink, even words, there's all sorts of ways to coerce a boy into sleeping with you."

"Yo-She didn't need any of those things."

"He needed comfort of some kind, she took advantage of that. Besides sweetie, she'd made him forget all about you. When I purged him of Quor-Toth's essence he unconsciously forgot about you to protect you from me, believing that I'd find out and tell Angel and Angel would hurt you and the babies. He remembered you for a time though didn't he? That thing forced him to forget about you again, using a spell so that she could manipulate him again. Without you in his memories he was much more vulnerable and an easier target." Calista looked up and away, tears in her eyes,

"This is so awful." she gasped, fighting a sob. Feeling tears in her own eyes, tears of grief, regret and pure sadness Cordelia reached out and stroked back the lovely soft hair slowly and soothingly. "I hate this! I hate what that thing did! To all of us. I hate what she did to me!"

"I know, but she's gone forever, you beat her, you've won it all Calista, the guy, the babies, the world." She looked at her sadly and then Cordelia hugged her tightly, letting her rest her head on her shoulder. She held her tightly, digging her fingers into her back, which made Cordy wince but she said nothing. She may have cried silent tears, but there were no more sobs. At length she hissed,

"I am so sick of crying."

"I know, I know." Cordelia rocked her slightly. "No more tears, ok? Just smiles and laughter from now on."

"That sounds really nice." she whispered, letting out a little giggle. Cordelia smiled and let her straighten up. She wiped her face and smiled at her gratefully. "Thank you Cordy." She squeezed her hand slightly to emphasise her words.

"No problem." The moment between them was broken by screams of delight. They both stood up and saw Buffy being crushed in a hug by Dawn and Willow who were both squealing in delight and Dawn was bouncing up and down. "What's going on in there?"

"I don't know, but maybe it has something to do with the ring Angel was contemplating this morning, y'know, before I started seeing all evil and good." Calista shrugged innocently but she was smiling broadly. Cordelia gaped at her and then they both rushed in to hear Dawn squeal

"I can't believe you're finally engaged!"

"Dawn! We've only recently gotten back together!" Buffy laughed.

"Oh but you've been destined for it since you were sixteen Buffy!" Cordelia laughed as she and Calista joined them. "Now lets see!" she squealed, clapping her hands eagerly. Buffy smiled in delight and held out her hand flashing the diamond in the light. Cordelia examined it and said, "Wow, Angel you have good tastes, although I guess I already knew that when you bought me all new clothes that time." Angel looked embarrassed while Connor laughed at Buffy's indignant look, as if she was wondering why Angel never bought her all new clothes. Calista smiled and admired the beautiful band, her eyes going thoughtful.

"When are you going to have the wedding?" she asked curiously.

"Oh I haven't got a clue yet, we have so much to plan." Buffy jumped up and down in excitement and suddenly flung her arms around Angel. Spike leaned in and whispered something into Connor's ear, which made him snort and grimace. Calista raised an eyebrow at the two of them and they shot her innocent looks. She sighed and then sighed again as Liam let out a small cry, obviously disturbed by the noise. She went over and picked him up letting his head rest on her shoulder and she bounced him lightly. She smiled at him sweetly and rested her cheek on his little head. Connor smiled broadly for some reason at the sight.

"Y'know, if you wait long enough you'd have a ready made flower girl and ring bearer." Spike said, pointing in turn at Tayen and Liam.

"Oh how cute would they look!"

"We'd have to wait till they were at least a year, if not two or three." Buffy exclaimed, "I can't wait that long."

"You should so let Anya handle your finances. She's amazing at it." Calista said wisely as she sat down with Liam in her arms.

"Oh good idea."

"What do you think for a dress Buffy? What style?" asked Cordy eagerly.

"Well I don't know, but I'm not making any decisions till we come back from Sunnydale." Buffy answered.

"You're still going?" Calista exclaimed in shock.

"Yes we are, we have unfinished business to attend to. The hellmouth needs to be shut down."

"And just how will you accomplish that?" Cordelia exclaimed,

"I… haven't figured that out yet, but we're leaving in two days at most, preferably less." Buffy stuck her chin out defiantly her mind was clearly set. Calista bit her lip nervously but said nothing. Connor looked at her worriedly, as if he knew what she was thinking.

"Buffy, have you any idea what's there waiting for you to just wander on into?" Cordelia looked very worried.

"Well no."

"I do." whispered Calista almost against her will. She looked at the ground when they stared at her.

"So do I." Connor admitted. "Connacht kept a very close eye on The First." he added at their questioning looks.

"So what is there?"

"An army." Calista whispered, holding Liam close, "Even when we had all the Potentials it would never have been enough. Never enough." she shook her head and shifted restlessly, hugging Liam tightly, whispering again, "Never enough."

* * *

Connor smiled at Tayen as he carefully pulled her little hand out through the sleeve of her sleeping suit. She watched him curiously and then yawned widely. He chuckled and picked her up bringing her over to the pink crib. He lay her down and made sure the sheets were smooth and tight across the mattress. Once he did he went and switched the lights off and shut the door. He turned to Calista who was pulling off her shoes and setting them inside the wardrobe and he began to pull his shirt over his head.

"Erk!" he grunted as it stuck halfway over his head. "Help! Calista!" he laughed, struggling with the offending clothing. She chuckled and he heard her approach him and her hands helped him wriggle the shirt off him.

"Next time remember to undo the buttons." she said dryly, holding the shirt in her hands.

"No argument from me." he agreed. She suddenly got a thoughtful look in her eyes and her hands dropped the shirt. They moved towards him and rested against his chest. She stared at her hands, and then looked at him. She moved with vampire speed and kissed him hungrily, pushing him against the wall. His hands gripped her hips and pulled her close. Her hands explored his torso lightly and he groaned, now undoing the buttons of her blouse, pushing it off her shoulders. Her skin was silky smooth under his fingertips, except for the occasional rise that was a scar. His own body was covered in them, and she used to trace them when they lay together. She only had a few, the most distinguishing one was on her shoulder blade, it was long and jagged running from the point where shoulder melted into arm and down across towards the middle of her spine. His fingers traced it now, the strap of her nursing bra getting in the way of the full pattern. She let out a soft whine and pulled him to the bed. Soon they were under the covers, touching, kissing, reacquainting themselves with each other's bodies. They hadn't made love in months and months; they were craving the closeness it gave them. Calista made those soft noises he loved and she felt so soft and sweet against him. They whispered words of love to each other and then suddenly she clutched him tightly, her eyes widening in surprise before she moaned his name. He nuzzled into her neck to muffle his own moans. Finally they lay under the covers of their large bed, arms and legs around each other, Connor gently kissing down her nose to her lips. She sighed in contentment and snuggled into him more.

"This is nice."

"Mm-hm." he agreed, his fingertips stroking her back lightly, making the goosebumps rise.

"I wish this could last forever, this peace, this happiness."

"I'm glad you still feel such things after everything." he whispered softly. She smiled up at him, lying on his chest.

"Of course I do Connor, you make sure of that."

"How cheesy." he teased.

"Cheesy but true." she countered smiling broadly. His toes played against hers and she giggled softly. Then her smile faded and she stroked his face. "Are you sure about this?" He pushed her hair out of her face and nodded solemnly,

"I'm sure."

"Once we start we cannot go back." she said carefully, her eyes probing him for any doubts.

"I'm sure Calista." he insisted.

"Ok Connor." She leaned closer and kissed him, and then they both got out of bed. They dressed quickly and quietly. She pulled a bag out of the wardrobe; it gave off the distinctive scent of jasmine. Connor went into the nursery and he quickly cast a small transport spell. The cribs and babies vanished, now residing in Buffy's room. A baby monitor was promptly transported to his dad's room along with a letter. Calista checked the bag and then said

"We ready?" He wordlessly held his hand out for hers and she obliged. "Got the keys?" He held them up and they smiled slightly at each other. They tip toed down to the lobby, at this time of night even Angel and Spike were out cold, and then out to the street. Connor unlocked his dad's beloved car and they both hopped in. Connor put the keys in the ignition and started it up, Calista whispered a spell of silence to prevent any half awake people from catching them. Connor smoothly unparked the car and then they began to go down the empty street. Calista murmured

"Good thing Connacht learned how to drive." Connor smiled.

* * *

"Where the hell could they be?" yelled Angel furiously. "Just wait till I get my hands on them, I'll kill them! How dare they, this is completely irresponsible!" He continued his rant and the others were edging away slowly from him afraid that sudden movements would mean their doom. Finally Wesley said

"Angel calm down, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this sudden disappearance."

"I'll bet it's in this letter peaches dropped when he grabbed the monitor." Spike said dryly as he held up the envelope. It had Angel written on it in large letters. Angel snatched it and tore it open, almost ripping the letter inside. He unfolded it and read;

_Dad, _

_By the time you read this we'll be long gone. Don't worry if you can help it, Calista and I will be back. We just need to finish up the situation in Sunnydale. We wanted to tell you but we knew you'd never let us go. We know Buffy can't do anything about The First, and we know we have to be the ones in the hellmouth. Something's going to happen, we can't tell you what because we don't know, but we need to be there. Please don't follow us, we want you to stay with Liam and Tayen till we return. I promise we'll be careful, but this is something we need to do. Call it closure._

_Love _

_Connor and Calista_

Angel was motionless as Buffy pried the letter from his fingers and read it aloud.

"Closure? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Yeah, it's Buffy and the others who ought to want closure on the First, not Connor and Calista."

"Think this has something to do with the Children of Vampires?" Gunn frowned thoughtfully.

"What makes you say that Gunn?"

"Think about it, the big bad that had possessed Cordy was the evil Power right? The First was its partner in crime, remember? Maybe they feel it's up to them to… I dunno, get vengeance on the both of them."

"Sounds very possible, we've seen how far Connor can go for revenge." Angel winced at the still very vivid memory of being stuck at the bottom of the ocean. Buffy squeezed his hand supportively.

"We have to go after them!"

"But the letter said-"

"Bugger the letter!" Spike exclaimed, cutting Dawn off. "I'm not letting those two nutcases go off into the pit of hell, they're the ones who were warning us about what's in there."

"They must have planned this a while ago. This couldn't have been a sudden idea in their heads." Fred said looking at the letter again. "Hey… where did they learn to drive?"

"Connor mentioned Connacht made a note of learning the method of driving or something and he must have used it to take my car." Angel growled.

"Let's not waste time, by now they're already there." Cordelia said decisively.

"Wait we can't just leave the babies I mean I know it's been pretty quiet lately but there's no telling who might want to steal them. We need to leave enough people to protect them."

"So half of us stay and half of us go, either way I'm going." Spike said.

"Me, too." Angel added.

"No, you promised you'd stay here Angel!" Buffy said sternly

"Plan's changed Buffy." He said quietly.

"One ensouled vampire has to stay put." Cordelia ordered, "So decide quickly. We don't have much time!"

* * *

/_Doing a dance/_ One chapter left, one chapter left! Reviews will bring it up all the faster!

Night's Darkness


	33. Tipping the Scales

Here it is, the final chapter /OMG/ last author's note at the end. Sorry it took so long but I had this written and then realised it was awful, so I had to do a lot of editing. Enjoy!

* * *

**Balance chp 33: Tipping the Scales**

"Connor we don't have much time."

"I know Calista, I know, just one more thing." He picked up the spring of jasmine and placed it over the small bundle of other items, among which was their own blood. He reached out and they held hands over the bundle. Calista swallowed nervously and he took a deep breath to calm himself. "Ready?" She nodded and began to chant,

_Oi maaginen armoitettu , oi väkijuoma hyväntahtoisuus ,_

_Antaa alusta loppuun hiekkakivi -lta aika ,_

_Käännyttä parannukseen totuttaa vereen ase ,_

_Asettaa rikki sen eksponentti ,_

_Antaa se päälle objektimuoto ,_

_Vampyyri Lapsi hyvä._

Their eyes rolled back in pleasure as the magic filled their bodies, pulsing through their veins. Their hands separated and extended out to the sides, their heads leaning back. The magic swirled all around them, pulsing, primitive, powerful. A beam of blue light shot up from the ground and up to the sky. They reacted instinctively and thrust their hands into its warm depths. Each curled their fingers around something and pulled hard. At once the whole spell ended and they fell onto their backs each gripping an identical weapon. They stood up unsteadily and then examined the weapons. They were scythes, with blood red blades and a wooden stake on the ends. Connor ran his hand up the handle, drawing in a sharp breath as he felt the power and magic within the weapon.

"Wow." he gasped. Calista only could nod. He stepped back from her and tested the scythe, swinging it in his fingers like a baton, then gripping it and thrusting it forward into an imaginary neck. He then studied it carefully, admiring the skill obviously needed to forge such a weapon. A weapon of the Children of Vampires, the weapon they'd used to fight the demons that had roamed earth freely, the one they'd used to fight their parents that wanted their blood. They gave it in the blade, a mixture of metal and their blood. Now this was his weapon, and no one else's. Calista watched him fascinated, then said bewilderedly,

"Why was the spell in Finnish?"

"Haven't a clue. I think it may have something to do with the fact that Latin is the language of the Christian church and Connacht isn't a Christian, and he also happened to like the Finnish language. He thought it was a nice musical language."

"He was weird!"

"No argument from me." he smiled slightly at her and they returned to the car that they'd parked on the edge of the road. They climbed over the doors and sat down with the weapons in their laps and Connor started the engine again. He slipped his sunglasses over his eyes to protect them from the bright rays of the sun and drove down the empty road. They hadn't seen any other cars in a good while.

"What do you think will happen when we go down there?" she asked nervously.

"I wish I knew." he answered tightly, he was anxious too. All they were going on was a gut instinct that this was what they had to do and they were following it. They both trusted their instincts deeply, having relied on them most of their lives. But they couldn't deny that what they were doing was incredibly stupid. Going into the Hellmouth with an army was dangerous, they were going in just the two of them. Yet they knew they had to do this. Something called them here, Connor more then Calista, his very blood was screaming, pounding in his ears to get to Sunnydale and get to the Hellmouth. They saw the sign _'Welcome to Sunnydale'_ coming up and Connor got a wicked grin on his face.

"Connor don't!" Calista warned,

"It's a family tradition!" he protested

"No, it's a Spike tradition."

"Exactly and Spike's family, so we have to do it for him." She sighed in exasperation.

"Oh alright." Connor grinned broadly, and sped up the car. They crashed heavily into the sign and sent it flying onto the road. Calista waited till they were in the city to ask dryly,

"Happy now?"

"Ecstatic!" Connor chirruped. He then let his smile fall and said, "About ten minutes from the school now."

"Nice town." she commented thoughtfully. Suddenly Connor pulled up and stared at a house. It had a gorgeous porch and was warm and would have been inviting if it weren't for the fact the windows were boarded up. She followed his gaze trying to see what he saw but then realised he wasn't looking, he was feeling. He knew who's house this was. She did too, but she'd been in the house only a short time ago. Right where this whole thing had started properly for them.

"Buffy's house." she whispered softly. "It's so pretty, isn't it?"

"Mm." he grunted, "Nice enough, I like the porch."

"Yeah, it looks like it'd be fun to sit there on a summer evening. I didn't get to see much, I kinda showed up, and we were on our way within the night."

"Yeah." Connor sighed and the car continued its journey. Calista kept shooting him glances and it was making him jumpy. "What?" he asked gruffly. She looked away,

"Nothing." she murmured softly. He glanced at her and hit the brakes sharply, making them squeak. Her hand shot out to the dashboard to steady herself. He fixed her with a sharp gaze.

"What is it?" She looked at him and then suddenly leaned forward to kiss him. He reflexively returned the kiss. She gently sucked on his lower lip and then pulled away.

"I love you." she whispered.

"I know. I love you too." he responded, putting a lock of her hair behind her ear only to have it slip back again. She sat back and said

"We could die here."

"I know, but we won't." he said decisively. "Dad would bring us back just so he could kill us himself for leaving the babies like that. And stealing the car." he added as an afterthought. She chuckled softly and he pressed the accelerator. The car shot forwards and swerved around the corner.

"Speaking of Angel, how did Willow and Giles take the spell for him that Connacht devised for him?"

"Well once they got over their scepticism, they were delighted and got me to describe it to them in detail. We agreed we'd wait till the wedding, you know, make dad's soul permanent, let them have a proper, traditional honeymoon."

"By the time they get married, Buffy will be a reborn virgin!" Calista laughed softly.

"Exactly, like I said, traditional." He grinned as he turned the car down another road. He grinned to himself, amazed and very grateful that Connacht had actually created a spell especially for Angel to make his soul permanent. He found it weird no one tried to do it before.

"Connor! We're here!" she exclaimed as he nearly zipped past the school. He slammed on the brakes and the car squealed to a halt again. She glared at him as the seatbelt saved her from making an exit through the windscreen.

"Connacht also favoured car chase movies." he said dryly

"Clearly." she returned equally dry. They climbed out of the car and Connor slipped the keys into his pocket and took off his sunglasses securing them in the front of his shirt. They gripped their new weapons and approached the school. Calista reeled back suddenly and Connor stopped.

"Calista?"

"It reeks of evil." she said shakily, "Balance felt it but couldn't do anything, it wasn't her job to deal with." She was having some problems with the experience of being Balance, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. She swallowed hard and then raised the scythe up a little higher. "Come on." she said decisively. They strode into the school, following the smell of evil to the basement. There it was! The Seal of Danzalthar, the Hellmouth. It was sealed tight, had been since Buffy had managed to close it with Andrew's tears before they'd left for L.A. Before Calista had walked into their lives.

"Here we go." Connor stepped forward and then whirled around and stuck the stake end of the scythe in the stomach of the Harbringer that had been sneaking up behind them. He grabbed its throat and threw it down onto the Seal. It gasped and choked but then lay motionless as its blood flowed out over the Seal. One by one the triangles lifted up and they formed a kind of pyramid. It sank into the ground and left an opening. Calista moved forward to go first but Connor pushed her back, no way would he let her go first. She frowned and rolled her eyes as she followed him. Down the stone steps, it was eerily like the way they'd descended the steps into the Realm of Beginnings, and it made Connor shudder. They entered the actual Hellmouth and as they approached the edge of a ledge their eyes widened in utter horror. They'd known and Calista had seen in her visions from Balance but nothing could have truly prepared them for this. Thousands and thousands of Turok-Han were down there, all hungry for blood.

"Uh, what do we now?" Calista whispered, her lips barely moving. Neither actually had an idea of what they were meant to do now.

"Well I'm hoping inspiration hits before they-" As one the Turok-Han turned their heads to them, Connor gulped, "see us." he finished. Calista groaned

"Next time I'm choosing the dates activities."

"No argument from me." The Turok-Han rushed at them and they went back to back. They slashed and stabbed, dusting Turok after Turok, but for each one they killed two more took its place. Connor ducked under a punch and thrust the stake up into the head. It screeched and he managed to slice its head off.

"Agh!" he yelled as something hit the side of his head. He staggered to the side and a Turok took advantage of his distraction to wrench the scythe from his hands and two more grabbed his arms, pulling them behind him. He grunted in pain and his eyes searched for Calista, who was still going strong. He had to admit he was impressed as he tried to throw off his captors. He didn't dare call for help. She ducked and swung, spinning on the balls of her feet, kicking and slashing, packing a punch. The Turok-Han seemed to be trying to grab her rather then kill her, and he could see she was aware of this. She was moving so fast that she was nearly a blur. He thrashed again but the Turok dragged him off despite his struggles. With six pairs of hands now gripping him, he had little choice but to comply.

"Connor!" Calista had seen him being dragged off and was now trying to get to him. In doing so she became distracted. He could just hear Holtz saying coldly

"_Never let yourself be distracted, it could easily be the last thing you ever do."_ Calista spun and sliced, downing Turok after Turok but suddenly one managed to sneak an arm around her waist and pull her down. He lost sight of her among the creatures but heard her snarl and shout very strong curses at them. Spike would have been very proud. Finally she reappeared, with the Turok-Hans gripping her arms and twisting them sharply. She struggled as they brought her over to him and they were both forced to their knees. They shared a look of confusion. Why weren't the Turok-Hans trying to kill them? Not that they were complaining of course.

"Well, I have to admit I am surprised." They both looked up and Connor groaned,

"Couldn't you pick someone else?" The First, posing as Holtz gave him a patronising look that both of them knew all too well.

"I happen to think that this form is the best for you two." It answered smugly.

"Yeah, whatever." Connor wasn't afraid of The First Evil, probably something Connacht was responsible for. Calista looked at him in irritation.

"Anyway, I am very surprised, I mean even Connacht was never this dumb." Connor felt anger flare up in his chest. "Walking on into the Hellmouth, taking on all these Turok-Han, the vampires that vampires fear. I mean how pathetically stupid are you?"

"Hey, hey! Now there's no need for that." Connor raised his eyebrows and shared a look with Calista while The First had widened its eyes in what could easily have been horror. Slowly it turned around. Only to be punched straight in the nose. It howled in agony and clutched its nose while its grinning attacker shook his hand and said, "I have always wanted to do that." Connor and Calista stared in shock at Connacht who was standing there completely at ease, with a blood red scythe in his hand.

"What are you doing here?" Calista exclaimed.

"Hello to you too Sleeping Beauty!" Connacht grinned at her cheekily. "We thought you might like a hand."

"We?" Before Connacht could answer The First suddenly morphed into a giant of a creature, it looked like a combination of human, demon and computer parts.

"I find myself… angered." it said in a deep slow voice. Connacht smirked,

"You know, _Adam_, you should try those stress balls, you just squeeze and-" He was cut off by the creature grabbing his throat and squeezing. "Yeah squeeze just like that." he gasped.

"Hey!" The First looked behind it and Calida, who had just appeared there said, "Hands off! He is mine!" and she punched it hard. The First wasn't used to being hurt in any physical way so it had a low tolerance to it. It dropped Connacht straight away and held its chin, grimacing in pain. Connacht straightened his clothes and shouted,

"Children of Vampires enter stage left! NOW!" At once, flying up from under their feet the spirits of the Children of Vampires came wielding their scythes, and the Turok-Hans were soon bursting into dust so fast that half the army was gone before the other half realised what was happening.

"NO!" screamed The First and it lunged at the spirits but they were moving too fast and if it came too close to one they'd just slash at it with their scythes.

"Hey I've got a riddle for you." Connacht muttered in Connor's ear, making him jump, he'd been so busy watching the scene unfold he hadn't noticed him. "How do you fight something non-corporeal?"

"Uh, you die and come back as a spirit?" Connor found himself smiling despite the chaos going on around him. He got to his feet and Calista copied. Connacht pouted,

"No fair!"

"Connacht you'll never be the Riddler, stick to being Robin." Calida smiled at him fondly.

"Oh holy oreos!" Connacht made his voice high pitched as he grumbled.

"Why?" asked Calista, spoiling the moment, Connacht's face went very serious.

"Why? Because the Powers screwed us over and in doing this we'll be getting back at them."

"But the Balance...?" Calista cocked her head to the side slightly. A Turok-Han screamed as Orlando sliced it.

"Has always been off. Evil was always the big bully. Now it's Good's turn to rule. You set it right Calista, but we're going to unset it for you, to give you some peace." The very word touched their souls in a way that was reminiscent of a long suppressed craving that suddenly came back full force.

"There will be evil, there always will be, but for a time, things will be calm for you. Good will have the upper hand for a while. You and the others deserve it." Calida reached out as if to stroke Calista's hair but withdrew her hand before it made contact.

"You're gonna give it all. Aren't you?" Connor asked softly. "We're never going to see you again."

"Maybe." Connacht said softly, "But don't forget, we'll always be here." He pointed to Connor's forehead.

"And here." Calista promised laying a hand over her heart. Connacht looked embarrassed all of a sudden.

"Aw, don't go all sappy on me, I'll cry." he moaned while grabbing Calida's hand and then kissing her cheek. Calista smiled at him and touched Connor's arm. Calida smiled, then it faded sharply and she stiffened.

"You'd better get out of here, don't stop till you're out of the city."

"What are you-"

"Just go!" Calida exclaimed as she suddenly whirled around and dusted a Turok-Han. Connor had nearly forgotten about them but he, for once, decided to obey and began to head to the entrance. The Children of Vampires cleared a path for him, but he had to occasionally stop and dust a runaway. He looked behind him and realised Calista wasn't with him anymore. His eyes widened in alarm and he looked around for her. Unfortunately the spirits of the Children of Vampires began to glow an orange light as they flew around like angels of the apocalypse making it hard to see. Connacht and Calida were glowing the brightest as they went straight for The First and tackled it, making it scream in rage and morph into it's true form, a cloud of dark colours, with hundreds evil faces outlined in the cloud, screaming, shouting. Connor felt his courage falter at the sight of it, it was so terrifying. Suddenly he felt someone grab his arm and he whirled around to see Calista pulling him out of the Hellmouth. In her other hand she held the two scythes. Her face was drawn in concentration, her eyes hard as she swung her arm and killed a wayward Turok-Han. She didn't look back; she just kept running, pulling him out of danger. Pulling him to the light. He was surprised at how short a time it took them to reach the car. Connor was just starting it up when the ground began to shake violently.

"Connor!"

"I'm on it!" he slammed his foot down and the car sped away. Even so the buildings were beginning to fall down, and the shaking was so bad it was hard to focus. As he swerved to avoid a piece of rubble he shouted, "Calista, a shield would be good right about now!" He wished they'd put the soft top up. It would have been something.

"Aye, captain!" she said, raising her fingers and at once a blue shield engulfed them. "Oh shit! Connor hurry!" Looking behind him, more because he'd never heard her curse before he saw the ground seeming to disappear, falling away.

"Oh shit!" he echoed her sentiments and willed the car to go faster. His fingers tingled and the car sped up even more. He wasn't even steering anymore, it was doing it all itself, swerving around to avoid the falling rubble. Connor looked up at Calista and decided not to point this out to her as her face was screwed up in concentration. Looking behind him again he saw the whole city was almost gone. The car began to slow down and he checked to see that they were almost at the edge of the city. This was as far as the destruction would go. They just needed to get over the barrier. It was speeding rapidly to them and so was the grounds drop level. There was literally a car length between the two as they sped over the barrier and onto the main road. The car slowed even more, Connor wasn't sure if it was him or if he'd somehow given the car life. It finally stopped smoothly and Calista dropped her arm. They both sat there in shock, Calista was gripping the scythes so tightly they were in danger of breaking and Connor was likewise gripping the steering wheel.

"They're gone." Calista whispered softly. Connor looked at her with tears in his eyes.

"They're gone." he whispered sounding lost. She looked at him, her eyes were dry, like this was something she couldn't even cry over, or maybe she was just sick of crying, or perhaps she had cried herself dry. She suddenly pushed the door open and got out. She paced around on the road, her arms swinging widely. She kept her back to the car. Connor watched her, trying to understand this feeling in his chest. It was like a gaping hole was there.

"Its gone!" she cried suddenly, "The realm is gone!" Connor widened his eyes as she turned to him. Her eyes were a tumultuous sea of emotion. "All of it! They're gone." She turned to the crater that was once Sunnydale and stared at it, shaking. Connor moved so he was sitting on the head of the car seat. His eyes widened as he studied the gaping hole. It looked like a meteor had crashed there.

'_Buffy's gonna kill us.'_ he decided with a cringe. Calista went and sat down at the edge of the crater, her legs dangling into it, her arms wrapping around herself. He hopped out of the car and walked up to her slowly.

"Calista?" he reached out to put his hand on her shoulder, but she pulled away.

"Just leave me alone for a while Connor, please."

"Yeah, sure, ok." he dropped his hand and moved back to the car. He opened the boot and pulled out a can of coke. Popping it he took a deep drink. He surveyed the land again, he wondered why he felt so calm, despite the tears. He was upset, but you'd think he'd be more upset then he was. Looking down, he saw his hands were shaking slightly. He took another gulp of coke. He was glad everyone had managed to get out of the town before this happened. The only victims were the Turok-Han, The First Evil, and some very special people. He sat on the boot and leaned his head back, the sun would be setting in an hour or so. His dad and Buffy would probably show up after that. He fought a grin as he thought of what his dad would say and do. He could imagine it perfectly and it made him laugh. He wondered if, when his children were older, they'd give him and Calista as much trouble as he gave his father. On second thought it was probably in the blood.

He thought of the letter he'd written to Angel and remembered that he'd mentioned closure. Did they get it? Yes, he thought they did. Did Calista think they had? He didn't know. He was glad of what the others had done for the world, but what did she think, she knew how Balance thought now, did she like the fact that the world was now unbalanced again? At least it was in Good's favour now. Although, Connacht's mind told him it wasn't going to be an obvious change. Lowering of crime maybe, certain politicians finally getting their heads straight, that sort of thing mostly. He wondered what was going on in his mate's mind. She was just sitting there, staring out across the landscape.

The sun was setting now, turning a faint red, making the whole sky, the land, light up in molten gold. Connor would be glad for when it got dark, he preferred the silver moonlight, to the golden sunlight. He liked the way the stars seemed to wink at him. Sometimes cheekily, sometime reassuringly, sometimes knowingly. His mind took him to a night, before he had Calista back in his arms, before he knew the truth about Cordelia, when everyone thought it was his fault for the apocalypse. He'd cried that night, although he refused to let anyone see, he'd hidden in the shadows no one really missed him. His tear-filled eyes had suddenly looked up and the stars winked at him. To him they said, so sweetly,

"_We believe in you, we know you're not responsible." _Strange, but that was the only reason he hadn't ended his life that night. That night he'd just wanted to die. He was glad now that he hadn't taken the final steps. What would Calista have done? She'd have died because her power couldn't be unlocked. He contemplated the past few months. He thought about Balance. He noted how even he referred to the Balance as a person.

He wondered if there was a Good like that, one that could be referred to like a person. He wondered if there was an Evil like that too. He suddenly snorted, his mind took him to a fluffy cloud place, and seated at a table on either side were Good and Evil. He could just imagine Balance in the middle, watching both of them carefully, waiting for one to slip. They were doing something, playing a game. Snakes and Ladders? Nah, too commercial. A chess game he decided. A never-ending chess game. Balance made sure neither cheated, and because they were evenly matched, the game would continue forever, Evil would move a piece towards the king, and Good would block it. Sometimes one or the other would have a few extra pieces but the game would never end. If the game ended… both players would loose, because without one, the other cannot exist, because, if only good existed, who would know that it was good? If only evil existed, who would know evil? Connor shook his head lightly and returned to the crater and the sun.

The light was extending out and it cut into his eyes. He reached down and pulled out his sunglasses from the front of his shirt. He slipped them on and was pleased to find the light stopped hurting. Calista hadn't moved. He sighed and wished he'd brought his new game boy, he was beginning to get bored. He knew that this was a time to reflect, a time to think on the past, but damnit, he was so sick of thinking about the past. And he was so bored. He emptied the can and put it back in the boot, no point in being a litter bug. He wandered back to the front of the car and began to rummage through the glove compartment. To his surprise, he found a pack of cards. He took the pack and returned to the boot, once again sitting on it. He began to play solitare, waiting for Calista to join him or someone to come along. He wondered who would be coming along. His dad would want to… but he knew Buffy would probably try to make him stay in L.A. Spike would want to go. He could guess what would happen there, Rock, Paper, Scissors anyone? Sad to say that was probably exactly what they'd end up doing. One would stay with the babies. Connor put his money on his father. Angel would probably stay with the babies. Buffy would make sure he did even if she had to tie him to the cribs. The sun sank lower and lower, Connor was tempted to snap,

"Will you just get lost!" to it but he doubted it would speed things up. He looked up at the sky that was turning purple. The moon smiled down at him and the stars winked at him to say,

"_Good job, we're proud of you."_ Suddenly he realised he was not sitting alone on the boot. Calista had joined him and was shuffling the cards.

"Hey! I was gonna win that game." he complained.

"You've won fifty games; I think your ego has been stroked enough." She smiled at him, her eyes much calmer now. She was happy now.

'_Hmm… now if this were a movie, this would probably be the time to kiss her.' _he thought to himself eyeing her lips as she dealt the cards.

"What's the game?"

"Go fish." She smiled and they began to play. "Got any twos?"

"Go fish. Got any Jacks?"

"Go fish. Got any tens?"

"Damn! Got any kisses." She looked at him in amusement and said,

"Two." She leaned forwards and kissed him twice, much to his enjoyment. He was about to pull her closer when the sound of a car, or was it a bus, entered their hearing range. They smirked at each other and resumed their game. They waited for about ten minutes, after which time a yellow school bus skidded to a halt beside them. They continued their game.

"Got any twos."

"Darn, I was so close." she grumbled handing them over. The bus door opened and something tall, bleach blond and pissed came out.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing!"

"Oh hi Spike!" Calista chirruped cheerily.

"Hi Spike? That's all you have to say? What the hell happened to Sunnydale?" The vampire seemed to be having a mini explosion.

"Uh it went implode?" Connor shrugged, playing dumb, Spike's fits were always fun to watch. Just then they both noticed a small but formidable blond woman staring at them, demanding an answer. "Uh, hi Buffy." Connor tried to hide his nervousness of this woman. His soon to be stepmother his brain reminded him. Weird.

"What happened here?" She spoke calmly and she didn't raise her voice, but her eyes demanded they speak.

"We came because of a gut instinct. We entered the Hellmouth, we fought the Turok-Han, then The First made an appearance, and then Connacht, Calida and the other Children of Vampires did the rest." Connor explained briefly.

"They did this?"

"They gave up their existence for us." Calista said softly. Buffy looked at her with an indescribable expression. "They gave up all their power to give us a chance to live normal lives. Even the realm is gone." Her face was eerily blank as she spoke, as if she wasn't really there. He knew she was just in shock and that she'd be ok. Giles came out of the bus and began to polish his glasses.

"I'm not sure I understand." Connor slid off the boot and Calista climbed over it into the passenger seat. Connor hopped into the driver's seat and then said, looking straight at them.

"We'll explain when we get back to the hotel."

"We just need to get our heads around this. Believe me guys, it's pretty big. Life altering." Calista explained, leaning her head back against the head of the chair tiredly. "We'll meet you there." Connor stared at the Scoobies, they looked very overwhelmed and he felt sorry for them. But he couldn't help them, they needed to sort this out for themselves.

"You guys take all the time you need. Remember, you're always welcome at _Lé Hotel Chaos_ a.k.a the Hyperion." he gave them what he hoped was an encouraging smile and then started up the car. His eyes met Buffy's and an understanding passed between them. She nodded in understanding, he didn't need to tell her anything, she understood completely.

"We'll see you there." she agreed. They both smiled at her and then Connor turned on the engine. Calista gave them a two-fingered salute, like a Brownie and then they took off down the road.

"Think they'll be ok?" he asked his mate. She looked out over the rushing land, the wind blowing her hair back and then she said softly,

"It'll take time. But they will. They just lost a lot and they weren't even here for it. That's hard for them, they're used to saving the day, so to have missed it will be hard for them. But they'll be fine. They'll move on."

"So can we." Connor added softly, glancing at her shyly. She smiled and touched his hand. Her smile touched his heart in a way that made him want to do a dumb dance. He wondered if she felt that. She smiled at him knowingly and he knew she did. He took her hand and kissed it. "Feel like being dangerous?" She smiled broadly.

"Always." The car's engine roared as they shot down the road at a reckless speed, heading for the City of Angels, where one angel in particular was planning on strangling them when they arrived. They couldn't wait to see him try.

* * *

_"Balance, you did well." The All congratulated its obedient servant. Balance bowed its head. "A new age is dawning for earth."_

_"Will you have need of me? It does not appear that things will be very equal for some time." Balance asked. The All smiled kindly and said,_

_"Of course. You will always be needed. There's no one else who can monitor those two." The All motioned to the table where Good and Evil sat playing their never-ending game._

_"You cheat!" wailed Evil_

_"Did not!" snapped Good. Balance sighed._

_"Excuse me." It bowed and then returned to the table, sitting between them as it always had and always would, keeping the Balance.

* * *

_

And I am done! Oh my God I didn't think I'd ever get this story done. I think my writing style changed a good bit in these last few chapters, but to anyone who was annoyed by it I wasn't doing it deliberately. Thank you to all of you who reviewed, or those who just read the story, I really do appreciate it. If you're hoping for a sequel well, I really don't plan on it even though it's such an open ended story, I thought I'd let readers come up with their own ideas of what happens next. Be sure to tell me your theories!;-) I may write a sequel but I wouldn't hold your breath otherwise your liable to pass out.

Thank you and good night!

Night's Darkness


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